The Kansas City Chiefs cut Emari Demercado when their initial 53-man roster came out before Week 1, a move that underscored just how quickly the backfield changed. What had looked like a roster spot for a player valued for pass protection disappeared anyway.
The timing matters because the Chiefs entered this roster cycle with a running back room many around the team viewed as the most improved part of the roster from last season. Brashard Smith is the only returning member from that group, while Kenneth Walker and Emmett Johnson replaced the trio of Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, and Elijah Mitchell.
That makes Demercado the name that falls out of the middle of the picture. He was expected by most to help mainly in pass protection, and there was still a case for him as a runner too: his career average sits at 6.5 yards per carry, well above the 3.8 yards per carry produced combined by Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco last season. Even so, the Chiefs liked what they saw from Walker, Johnson and Smith enough to make Demercado expendable.
The math of the room helps explain the decision. Last season the Chiefs opened with Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, Elijah Mitchell and Brashard Smith in the backfield, a group that was widely viewed as one of the weakest in the NFL. This time, the team is carrying a deeper and more balanced mix, with stronger pure runners and the kind of coverage help coaches usually want on passing downs.
That leaves one open question, and it is the one Demercado has already forced onto the table: if a player can help in protection and still bring better rushing efficiency than what the Chiefs had last year, what exactly did he lose to in this cut? For now, the answer is the roster itself. The Chiefs have chosen the upgrade they believe is already on hand, and Demercado is the price of that bet.
