Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is not a fan of this time of year.
No, we’re not talking about the new football season itself. We’re talking about the specific time of year in training camp when he has to watch some of his hard-working teammates get cut from the roster.
Indeed, every NFL team must trim its roster to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
“It’s hard. I don’t like to follow it too closely,” Mahomes said, via Pro Football Talk. “I’m rooting for everybody. It’s hard to sit there, and you don’t want to promote one guy to make it over another guy because this is people’s livelihoods. This is people’s lives.
“I let those guys, [general manager] Brett Veach and Coach [Andy] Reid handle that, [owner] Clark Hunt, everyone like that. They do a good job of finding the best players to put in position to go out there and have success. I don’t follow that too closely. It’s hard for me. I like all the guys in the locker room. It’s hard to see guys, even if it’s for a moment, their dreams kind of get cut right there, so it definitely is a hard day for everybody in this league.”
Mahomes is right. It certainly is a tough time of year for players sitting on the roster bubble. Over 1,000 players will get cut across the league in the next few days, and that’s difficult for Mahomes to think about.