KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach fielded questions Saturday after the team trimmed its roster to the manditory 53-players.

UPDATED: Chiefs trim roster to NFL-mandated 53

OPENING STATEMENT: “I know you guys have seen the list, so I’m certainly free to talk about those guys. I’m going to wait for the official NFL waiver wire to come here and certainly there will be another wave of moves that come through, really in the next two days, but with that I will go ahead and take your questions.”

Q: With regard to Tremon Smith, what do you see his role being on this team?

VEACH: “We always talk about it when we come to the final days here, how critical special teams are. Tremon (Smith) was a guy who certainly did a great job for us last year on special teams in the return game. He really did a nice job now on the coverage units. When you talk about guys that make the final 53, we also play the game of who will be active on game day and how will they help us. So, with Tremon playing corner, he plays some running back, he plays some wideout, but really where he stood out for us, and I always say this, his special teams play was really good for us last year. Looking forward, even early on, De’Anthony (Thomas) is suspended the first game and really De’Anthony and Tremon have been the highest graded at our gunner position. Given his versatility and the fact he does so much for us on teams, it made more sense for us right now to keep him on the roster and play with the guys that will help us in Jacksonville.”

Q: What do you like about (Martinas) Rankin?

VEACH: “We talked about our offensive line, and those guys that have started for us have played a lot of years together and are a good, cohesive group up front. The young guys that we have, (Nick) Allegretti, (Ryan) Hunter and even Cam (Erving) with those guys, they have primarily played guard and we were trying to identify a tackle, a young tackle. We had Carlos Hyde on our roster and right towards the end there, Houston had a need and when they presented us with (Martinas) Rankin, there was a couple of positions we were really looking for in the last few days and one of them was the offensive tackle. A guy that was drafted in the third round last year and actually logged four or five starts last year. He needs some work, but Andy Heck has done a good job developing guys that we have on the practice squad and through the waiver claim, now we have a guy that was drafted third round last year, so he’s a young kid that has a lot of upside. We like having a young guy that we can develop and have under contractual control the next few years. We thought it would be a good move for us to build some depth at the tackle position.”

Q: With regard to Deon Yelder, how long do you anticipate before he is ready to practice and play?

VEACH: “I’m not sure if you have spoken with Rick (Burkholder) or will speak with Rick, but I would say the early communication I got, I think he will be ready. I don’t want to speak for Coach or Rick, but from some of the dialogue I got, is that he will be ready to go this week. We’re looking forward to getting him back out on the field and getting ready to play this week.”

Q: Why didn’t it work out for Kahlil McKenzie?

VEACH: “Kahlil (McKenzie) did a good job and as you guys know he played defense at Tennessee and he has the pedigree in his family background that suggested the transition would be something he could take to. He made really good improvements and strides from year one to year two. I think he’s still on the upswing. You never know how these things work, maybe a team claims him or there’s practice squad. There’s still time to develop these guys. When we rounded out our roster, we were looking at some of these guys. (Nick) Allegretti really came out strong and then Ryan Hunter was a guy who was on our practice squad last year and he really came on strong too. He also showed that he can play center and guard and handle the mental reps at both positions. Then we were rounding out that ninth and tenth guy when (Martinas) Rankin became available. We just didn’t have a tackle and having a young tackle in the mix, certainly for the duration of this year and into the future, was something that made sense. Nothing but positive on Kahlil, he’s done a great job and continues to get better. We will see how this goes and maybe he will be back here.”

Q: You brought Jeff Allen on in the preseason, what led to the decision to move on from him?

VEACH: “We still have time, we’re not done yet. I will say without getting too much into it, with the rules, we would like to have (Chad) Henne available for a return and we have to carry him a day on the roster. Again, we still have time here and there will be at least one more roster spot we can add and he may be in the mix along with some other guys.”

Q: With Breeland Speaks and Gehrig Dieter being done for the season, was that pretty much known with the diagnosis of the injuries?

VEACH: “As far as (Gehrig) Dieter, I’m not sure exactly where we are with Gehrig right now. We’re still going through medical stuff with our trainers and with his agent. Officially how that will be designated is yet to be determined. As far as (Breeland) Speaks, that was tough. Initially we were hopeful the ACL was intact and the knee was in good shape, then it came back that it was intact, but he had a little bit of a complication as Rick (Burkholder) mentioned with the MCL. Again, I don’t want to get too into this, but obviously Rick has been on top of his game the whole time and he said ‘hey listen, we want to get some more tests and get some second and third opinions,’ but it looks like there are other things complicating this. He’s such a young guy, there’s no way you want to put a designated tag on him and rush him back out there. As Rick mentioned early on, the best way to make sure this thing will fully heal is to take care of it now. I would say with Breeland, yes, we had some early indication that after we got our initial reports that it would be more serious. We were hopeful and we let the swelling go down before the other tests, but the other opinions saw it exactly how Rick saw it. I would say we had an earlier indication with Breeland, and with Gehrig, we’re still waiting and going through some options with him.”

Q: On De’Anthony Thomas, were you aware he was going to be suspended when you signed him?

VEACH: “Yes, we were. We were in contact with De’Anthony (Thomas) and we were still waiting to get back some information from the league and once the summer went along and training camp went along, we actually got that information back. At the time, the dialogue with the league office was no games or possibly one game. So, that was certainly something we were aware of and then shortly after we signed him, we were aware it was one game. I guess we knew that the last two weeks.”

Q: How do you feel about the group of guys going to Jacksonville?

VEACH: “Listen, we’re excited. We have a talented roster. Like every other team in the NFL, we can get better. We made calls and there were guys we were trying to target and make trades for and those things didn’t happen. It has to make sense for us and we don’t want to compromise assets we didn’t feel made sense. We had some dialogue and there are some areas we can get better in. The one thing about this process is, a lot of names get thrown out there and some guys we try to be more aggressive with and trade for, didn’t work out. We’re in a little bit of a tough spot since we are so far in the claim order, but we will certainly have a chance to put some claim names in and if those guys make it that far we can certainly take a step back and adjust our roster. Then there’s that second wave because you know teams that are picking in top five or top 10 of the waiver wire, sometimes these guys put in three or five claims. We did that the first year with seven guys. If you claim seven guys, then you have to cut seven guys. But there will be another big wave the following day. There’s still a lot of time in regards to the names we will see tonight and in corresponding moves in the next few days. Again, we still have a few days here from when we kickoff in Jacksonville, I still think there’s a chance the roster is set for now, but there could be two or three changes before we actually kickoff on Sunday.”

Q: What gives you the confidence that Matt Moore will be able to grasp this offense and contribute to the QB room?

VEACH: “I think you guys know that when we signed Chad (Henne), Matt was a guy that we also had extensive dialogue with. We brought Chad in, and at the same time we were scheduling to bring Matt in. We had extensive dialogue with both quarterbacks. We did a lot of work on both of those guys during that time and we got to know a lot about them. Both of those guys had been in the league. At that point, Matt wanted to step away for a little bit and have his family. He went to go that route at the time, and then we were certainly excited to get Chad. When this happened, the first thing that we did was reach out to Matt because sometimes these guys, when they get a year off and they get to refresh the mind and body and get to be with their families, sometimes it’s something that they will consider. Had a chance to call Matt shortly after we got this news from Chad. He was in a good place after the year off. He was excited about the opportunity and jumped at it. We just did so much work on him, and it wasn’t that long ago – I know he took a year off from playing last year – but it was just a few years ago that we did all that work. We felt so comfortable with both him and Chad at the time. It just made sense. Knowing where we are now with Patrick (Mahomes) and having the veteran guy that has kind of been there, done that, Matt has lined up and played a lot of football in this league. He is such a great guy, well-respected. We know a lot of guys that have worked with Matt and they speak the world of him. We just felt like it was the right fit for our locker room and we were excited to get him.”

Q: Is there one guy that made the 53-man roster that maybe was a surprise to you, maybe a revelation during training camp and in the preseason?

VEACH: “That’s a good question. We spent so much time with these guys, they’re here all summer and all spring with the OTAs, I would say there were some guys that really made some late pushes. I think Jeremiah Attaochu really played his tail off that last game and he was a guy that we had some different dialogue with. A 3-4 outside linebacker and a defensive end, I think he was a guy that really played his tail off in that last game and it was really hard to argue with the production he had. Tremon (Smith) coming on late with the special teams. I think the play of Darwin Thompson, a small school running back, we knew that he would be guy like Darrel Williams was last year, that we knew we were going to have on the roster, but I think his ability to really grasp everything so quickly and move up the depth chart was certainly a pleasant surprise. I think (Ryan) Hunter’s development from last year, a practice squad guy, and now being on the active roster, was a pleasant surprise. Joey Ivie, I think, had a really good camp. Some of these guys, we weren’t sure that they were going to make the final cut, but guys like Joey Ivie and Hunter, Attaochu’s last game, Tremon Smith and the play of Darwin Thompson were all really pleasant surprises.”

Q: With LeSean McCoy now a free agent, is that maybe a guy that you might be interested in?

VEACH: “I know it has been reported out there, but to keep myself clean with the league – and I know that the media is able to jump on that right away, but I think that the official list here will get out. Once he is officially on the list, we will be able to talk about him. As a step back, broad-view type of perspective; listen, we play a lot of common opponents and got to see him on tape, he is still a talented player and does a lot of great things in the passing game. If it is official, like it has been reported, I and sure that he is a guy that we will take a peek at. We kind of have a rapport with (him).”

Q: What led to making the move to send Mark Fields to the Minnesota Vikings?

VEACH: “I think if you go back to the roster right now, and I kind of hit on the special teams a lot with Tremon Smith, once we get to Jacksonville, guys are going to be active and Tremon does so much on our special teams units. I think if you look at our roster right now, we are certainly looking for corners. That is one of the positions that we will continue to look at. Right now, one of the things we have is we have good safety depth and we have good safety versatility. If you look at our roster, I would guess – and I don’t want to speak for Coach – that those five safeties will be active on gameday. One of the things that we talked about was having Bashaud Breeland, (Kendall) Fuller and (Charvarius) Ward. Fuller is a guy that can play inside or outside, so if there was something to go on with the outside, Fuller can bump out and play on the outside. Rashad Fenton is a backup nickel, however, the Badger (Tyrann Mathieu) can play some nickel. (Jordan) Lucas has played some corner in the past. (Juan) Thornhill can play some corner. We will certainly look into adding some corner depth, but one of the things that we talked about here was not overlooking the depth and the versatility we have at safety. Guys like the Badger could play nickel if he had to. Thornhill can go out and get reps at corner. Lucas has played corner. Fuller gives you inside and outside depth. With Fields, getting back to your question, Fields is a promising athlete. He has a lot of talent. We were able to potentially get a pick from him and then use Tremon in that special teams role, still knowing that we had some versatility with the Badger at corner, a guy like Lucas having played corner, Fuller can play on the outside, Thornhill could take some reps at corner if you need it, meanwhile, continuing to look and survey the landscape of what happens in the next 24 to 48 hours.”

Q: Mecole Hardman and Juan Thornhill could be contributors as early as Week 1. How pleased have you been with their development early on?

VEACH: “We are certainly excited. Going into the draft, that is what you hope for every year. Listen, a lot of credit goes back to the coaching staff. On the offensive and defensive side, both our staffs have done a great job of getting these guys ready to roll. It is not easy, and you guys have seen it, sometimes these guys come in here and play right away, sometimes it takes a year or two, sometimes three years. It certainly looks like Hardman, Thornhill and Darwin Thompson will play, any time that you have these young guys come in and be able to contribute Week 1, it is really a testament to their abilities, but it is also a testament to the coaching staff that we have and the work they put in. What no one sees is the extra hours in the film room and after practice, and all of the extra work they’ve put in. It’s really a tip of the cap to the player and the coaching staff there. We are certainly excited for those guys and I’m sure you’ll see a lot of those guys down in Jacksonville on Sunday.”

Q: How interested are you to see where the cornerback market has fluctuated following the initial cut-down to potentially add to the Chiefs roster?

VEACH: “We are going to keep our eyes open. We had some dialogue with a few teams. A couple of teams just wanted to stay put and not do anything, which we totally understand. Again, we have the three corners and we also have some versatility with our safeties. We do have a guy in Fenton that has come a long way and can help us out at nickel, but we also know we are getting Morris Claiborne back after Week 4, so that’s another thing that we factored into the equation. With the Fields move, and even potentially some moves that we may not make, that would probably be attributed to knowing that we get Claiborne back after Week 4. We are certainly going to really scan through the names that come through the next 24 to 48 hours and continue to have dialogue and see if we can get better. I still think we have some flexibility within our roster to do that. We made some calls and it didn’t work out. I think you guys know that I will certainly be on the phones trying to make things happen, but just overall league-wise, I think it’s five or six corners (per team) and it is a stress to kind of get those guys at times. There are always names that come through. Last year, we were able to have the opportunity to get Ward. The staff that I have here does a great job. We have a ton of names on the board. It appears – again, I don’t have the official list – but most of the names that we have on the board, those guys were either not going to be traded or they stuck on the roster. But there are always a handful that sneak through the cracks. If they don’t sneak through today, it could be tomorrow or even Monday or Tuesday. We’ll certainly keep our eyes open. We have these guys marked and tagged and we’ll kind of monitor their progress over the next few days.”

Q: When do you feel like you’ll have potentially more clarity with the linebacker position, based on the guys that were retained?

VEACH: “Typically, the 4-3 teams usually carry a little bit more (linebackers). That is kind of the route we went here. (Anthony) Hitchens, (Damien) Wilson and (Darron) Lee are going to play a ton. Certainly, happy with the progress that Darron Lee has made over the last few weeks. I think (Ben) Niemann gives you some backup at really MIKE and WILL. I think (Reggie) Ragland gives you backup at MIKE and SAM. Then, Dorian (O’Daniel) is a guy that gives you backup at WILL and Dorian is a core special teams guy. I think we have some backup-level in Ragland at SAM and MIKE, Niemann at MIKE and WILL and then Dorian at WILL and special teams. I think we’re happy with the group right now. They can all do some different things. Collectively as a group, I think they’ll be a good complement to the D-line we have.”

—Chiefs—