The Kansas City Chiefs closed out the 2024 preseason with a 34-21 loss to the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium, bringing their August record to 0-3.
Curiously, fan favorite wide receiver/returner Nikko Remigio’s first-half snap count was noticeably low despite his being on the roster bubble. ESPN’s Adam Teicher called it an “ominous sign” for the popular prospect’s chances of making the 53-man roster.
“Remigio played just one snap [over the initial two quarters of the preseason finale],” Teicher tweeted at halftime.
“The Chiefs mostly went with some combination of [Justyn] Ross (27 [snaps]), [Kadarius] Toney (17) and [Mecole] Hardman (24),” Teicher wrote.
Rookie Jared Wiley and veteran Irv Smith Jr. also received the bulk of the opportunities as the starting tight ends, while Carson Steele, Emani Bailey and Deneric Prince earned the most work at running back early on.
Remigio was mostly missing in action, however — in a game where one would have thought that the former undrafted talent needed to impress in order to solidify his role.
Not long after Teicher’s update, Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick tweeted, agreeing that the recent development is quite telling overall.
“Ross and Hardman seem ticketed for the active roster,” Derrick wrote. “Where does that leave Kadarius Toney? I’m still not entirely sure.” He also wrote: “Remigio is on the outside looking in unless something changes on the depth chart in front of him between now and Tuesday afternoon.”
Is There a Chance Nikko Remigio Already Secured a Spot on the 53?
The Chiefs and Bears both rested most of their roster locks on August 22, so it is fair to wonder whether Remigio’s usage was actually a positive sign rather than a negative one.
“Most of the starters got 0 snaps, is that an ominous sign for them too?” One fan questioned sarcastically on X. Another predicted: “Remigio played one snap because he already made the team.”
While these theories are plausible to some extent, it’s also important to remember that there is a big difference between sitting out altogether and getting limited snaps on offense after suiting up. Remigio did play in this game — especially in the second half.
He ended up catching two of three targets for one receiving yard (five-yard long). The shifty wide receiver also carried the ball once for one yard and returned two kickoffs for an average of 35.5 yards — which ranked third behind Hardman (43.0-yard average) and Louis Rees-Zammit (36.0-yard average) for KC.
The highlight of Remigio’s night was a 42-yard kick return to start quarter three.
Chiefs WR Nikko Remigio Predicted to Land on the Practice Squad After Being Cut
After the clock flashed zeroes on the final Chiefs preseason game of the summer, KSHB 41 beat reporter Nick Jacobs released an updated 53-man roster. Within it, Remigio was listed as a projected cut and practice squad candidate.
“The fifth, sixth and potentially seventh receiver spots have been a mystery since training camp began,” Jacobs outlined. “Hardman, in my book, is an insurance policy for [Hollywood] Brown and [Xavier] Worthy with his blazing speed. When Brown got injured, that potentially opened a seventh wide receiver spot on the roster.”
“[Justin] Watson battling a foot injury allowed [Skyy] Moore to take some of Brown’s reps in the first preseason game,” Jacobs continued on. “Moore also showed increased promise as a kick returner.”
Finally, the veteran media member made his way to Remigio.
“The Remigio versus Ross potential battle is likely for the seventh spot,” he said. “Ross provides the team a quality sized receiver that can catch the boundary passes and work in the red zone. He would likely be a package receiver versus a plug and play. Remigio provides the team a reliable special teams performer, returner and better perimeter blocker for screen passes and in the run game.”
Needless to say, Jacobs decided on Ross over Remigio for the last wide receiver spot in his final 2024 roster prediction. Along with the latter, he also pegged Cornell Powell and Montrell Washington as practice squad candidates but figured Toney would end up somewhere else.
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