2020 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 2020 Kansas City Chiefs season will be the Kansas City Chiefs' upcoming 51st in the National Football League, their 61st overall, and their eighth under head coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs will attempt to qualify for the playoffs for the 6th consecutive season, which would tie the franchise record for consecutive playoff appearances. The Chiefs, who won Super Bowl LIV the previous season, will attempt to be the first team to repeat as Super Bowl Champions since the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX, and the eighth team overall to repeat. In the offseason, the Chiefs released their longest tenured player in franchise history, punter Dustin Colquitt, who had been with the team since 2005.
| 2020 Kansas City Chiefs season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Andy Reid |
| General manager | Brett Veach |
| Owner | The Hunt family |
| Home field | Arrowhead Stadium |
| Uniform | |
 | |
The Chiefs are tentatively scheduled to open the season on September 10, 2020. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the season may be delayed. The NFL has discussed other possible plans, including playing games without fans in attendance.[1]
NFL Top 100
The Chiefs had six players named to the Top 100. Tight end Travis Kelce is the only player who was ranked higher than the previous season. Defending Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the highest rated Chiefs player on the list at 4th. Mahomes selection of fourth drew criticism from multiple NFL analysts and fans.[2] SB Nation’s Chiefs site Arrowhead Pride said they will no longer report on the top 100 following Mahomes being selected fourth.[3]
| Rank | Player | Position | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Patrick Mahomes | Quarterback |  |
| 18 | Travis Kelce | Tight end |  |
| 22 | Tyreek Hill | Wide receiver |  |
| 39 | Tyrann Mathieu | Safety | NR |
| 52 | Chris Jones | Defensive tackle | |
| 95 | Frank Clark | Defensive end | |
Offseason
Coaching staff changes
| Old coach | Position | New coach |
|---|---|---|
| Vacant | Passing game coordinator | Mike Kafka* |
| Rod Wilson | Assistant special teams coordinator | Andy Hill |
*Mike Kafka will continue serving in his role as quarterbacks coach, but will have additional duties as passing game coordinator
Players added
Below are players signed following the conclusion of the 2019 season, some of the players signed spent a portion of the 2019 season on the practice squad and/or active roster.
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Taco Charlton | DE |
| Felton Davis | WR |
| Gehrig Dieter* | WR |
| Jody Fortson* | WR |
| Antonio Hamilton | CB |
| Darius Harris | LB |
| Braxton Hoyett* | DT |
| Nick Keizer* | TE |
| Chris Lammons* | CB |
| Devaroe Lawrence* | DT |
| John Lovett | FB |
| Elijah McGuire* | RB |
| Tyler Newsome | P |
| Kelechi Osemele | G |
| Mike Remmers | T |
| Ricky Seals-Jones | TE |
| Emmanuel Smith* | LB |
| Andrew Soroh | S |
| Jordan Ta'amu | QB |
| Tedric Thompson | S |
| Tim Ward | DE |
| DeAndré Washington | RB |
*Indicates player finished the previous season on the Chiefs' practice squad
Players lost
Below are players who were on the roster at the end of the 2019 season, but were either released or did not re-sign after their contract expired.
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Blake Bell | TE |
| Morris Claiborne | CB |
| Dustin Colquitt | P |
| Felton Davis | WR |
| Kendall Fuller | CB |
| Marcus Kemp | WR |
| Darron Lee | OLB |
| Jordan Lucas | S |
| Marcus Marshall | RB |
| LeSean McCoy | RB |
| Emmanuel Ogbah | DE |
| Reggie Ragland | LB |
| Keith Reaser | CB |
| Terrell Suggs | DE |
| Spencer Ware | RB |
| Xavier Williams | DT |
| Stefen Wisniewski | G |
| David Wells | TE |
Draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | Running back | LSU |
| 2 | 63 | Willie Gay | Linebacker | Mississippi State |
| 3 | 96 | Lucas Niang | Tackle | TCU |
| 4 | 138 | L'Jarius Sneed | Safety | Louisiana Tech |
| 5 | 177 | Mike Danna | Defensive end | Michigan |
| 7 | 237 | Thakarius Keyes | Cornerback | Tulane |
Trades
- The Chiefs traded linebacker Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for their 2nd round draft pick (63rd overall).
- The Chiefs traded their 2nd round selection (64th overall), in addition to 2019 draft picks, to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for defensive end Frank Clark and a 2019 draft pick.
- The Chiefs traded their 6th round selection (211th overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for linebacker Darron Lee
- The Chiefs traded their 7th round selection (246th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for safety Jordan Lucas.
- The Chiefs traded their 6th round pick in 2021 NFL Draft to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for their 237th pick in the 2020 draft.
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Andre Baccellia | WR | Washington |
| Hakeem Bailey | CB | West Virginia |
| Rodney Clemons | S | SMU |
| Omari Cobb | LB | Marshall |
| Jarvaris Davis | CB | Auburn |
| Yasir Durant | OL | Missouri |
| Jovahn Fair | OL | Temple |
| Maurice French | WR | Pittsburgh |
| Aleva Hifo | WR | BYU |
| Lavert Hill | CB | Michigan |
| Jalen Julius | S | Mississippi State |
| Kalija Lipscomb | WR | Vanderbilt |
| Shea Patterson | QB | Michigan |
| Justice Shelton-Mosley | WR | Vanderbilt |
| Tommy Townsend | P | Florida |
| Tershawn Wharton | DT | Missouri S&T |
| Cody White | WR | Michigan State |
| Darryl Williams | C | Mississippi State |
| Bryan Wright | LB | Cincinnati |
Signed and released in the offseason
Below are players who were signed and released in the offseason before playing a game for the Chiefs in the 2020 season.
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Anthony Lanier | DT |
| Alizé Mack | TE |
| Shea Patterson | QB |
| Kyle Shurmur | QB |
| Mike Weber | RB |
| Cody White | WR |
| JaVarius Davis | CB |
| Jovahn Fair | G |
| Jalen Julius | S |
| John Lovett | FB |
| Tyler Newsome | P |
| Byran Wright | LB |
| Andrew Soroh | S |
COVID-19 opt-outs
Only July 24, 2020, NFL owners and the NFL Players Association approved giving players the option to opt out of playing during the 2020 season as precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The players listed below opted-out before the August 6 deadline and will not play.
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | Guard |
| Damien Williams | Running back |
| Lucas Niang | Tackle |
Staff
|
| |||||
Current roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Active/Reserve lists
Rookies in italics Roster updated August 16, 2020 | ||||||
Preseason cancellation
The Chiefs' preseason schedule was announced on May 7. However, on July 27, in a letter to fans, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell officially announced the cancellation of the entire preseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Regular season
Schedule
As the defending Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs earned the right to host the NFL Kickoff Game, which is tentatively scheduled for September 10.
The Chiefs' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7, and is subject to change, pending developments in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
| Week | Date | Time (CT) | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | TV | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 10 | 7:20 p.m. | Houston Texans | Arrowhead Stadium | NBC | |||
| 2 | September 20 | 3:25 p.m. | at Los Angeles Chargers | SoFi Stadium | CBS | |||
| 3 | September 28 | 7:15 p.m. | at Baltimore Ravens | M&T Bank Stadium | ESPN | |||
| 4 | October 4 | 3:25 p.m. | New England Patriots | Arrowhead Stadium | CBS | |||
| 5 | October 11 | 12:00 p.m. | Las Vegas Raiders | Arrowhead Stadium | CBS | |||
| 6 | October 15 | 7:20 p.m. | at Buffalo Bills | New Era Field | Fox/NFLN/ Amazon Prime |
|||
| 7 | October 25 | 3:25 p.m. | at Denver Broncos | Empower Field at Mile High | CBS | |||
| 8 | November 1 | 12:00 p.m. | New York Jets | Arrowhead Stadium | CBS | |||
| 9 | November 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Carolina Panthers | Arrowhead Stadium | Fox | |||
| 10 | Bye | |||||||
| 11 | November 22 | 7:20 p.m. | at Las Vegas Raiders | Allegiant Stadium | NBC | |||
| 12 | November 29 | 3:25 p.m. | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Raymond James Stadium | CBS | |||
| 13 | December 6 | 7:20 p.m. | Denver Broncos | Arrowhead Stadium | NBC | |||
| 14 | December 13 | 12:00 p.m. | at Miami Dolphins | Hard Rock Stadium | CBS | |||
| 15 | December 20 | 3:25 p.m. | at New Orleans Saints | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | CBS | |||
| 16 | December 27 | 12:00 p.m. | Atlanta Falcons | Arrowhead Stadium | Fox | |||
| 17 | January 3 | 12:00 p.m. | Los Angeles Chargers | Arrowhead Stadium | CBS | |||
Notes
- Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
- Networks and times for Sunday games from Weeks 5–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling.
References
- "Coronavirus: NFL determined to start 2020 season on time without contingency plans". Sports.Yahoo.com.
- "Twitter dumbfounded by Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes' ranking in NFL Top 100". USAToday.com.
- "Arrowhead Pride to no longer cover NFL Network's "NFL Top 100". ArrowheadPride.com.
- "Players opting out of 2020 NFL season because of coronavirus concerns: Tracking the full list". ESPN.com.
- Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.