Andy Reid, Leo Chenal, and JuJu Smith-Schuster send important message to Chiefs players facing roster cuts after preseason Week 3 vs. Bears

Kansas City Chiefs players who find themselves on the roster bubble will have one final opportunity to impress in the preseason finale against the Chicago Bears on Friday.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid feels that the team does a good job of setting expectations for players on the 90-man offseason roster. They know that this is an opportunity to showcase their talents, not just to the coaches and front office staff at One Arrowhead Drive, but across the National Football League. They know that just because a door closes in Kansas City, it doesn't mean that one can't open somewhere else, so long as they trust the process.

The Chiefs also recognize that they'll have to cut NFL-quality players who can find a home on another roster, as there are only so many available spots on their team.

“I think this is a year where there’s gonna be a lot of tough conversations, you know, at multiple spots,” Chiefs assistant GM Mike Bradway said during training camp. “It’s not gonna be easy. There’s gonna be players, unfortunately, we release that are NFL players and are going to be playing for other teams.”

Chiefs HC Andy Reid wants players to continue to force tough decisions in preseason Week 3

Chiefs HC Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach are in alignment in that they don't want to have to make any easy decisions with players who find themselves on the roster bubble. That's not just the company line, either, because they genuinely have an interest in players succeeding, whether it's in Kansas City or elsewhere.

“Yeah, so everybody can’t make the team, and they know that," Reid told reporters on Wednesday. "I tell them that day one. (I tell them to) just make our job hard. Make it hard for (General Manager Brett) Veach and his crew and the coaches to get rid of them. That’s how they’ve gone about their business. I haven’t seen guys counting numbers and lines and doing all of that stuff. They have come out and worked hard, for the first guy to the last guy, and I have appreciated that."

While roster cuts signal the season is near, they're certainly not celebrated in NFL circles. For Reid, it's one of the more difficult parts of the job.

"It’s a tough day, that’s not part of the job you like," Reid concluded. "But inevitably you've got to almost cut half a team. So, that’s not an easy thing.”

Chiefs LB Leo Chenal and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster weigh in with important advice

Knowing that roster cuts are coming on Aug. 26 and the opportunities to impress are dwindling, the worst thing you can possibly do for yourself is to press. Chiefs LB Leo Chenal believes that sticking to the routine and practices that got you to this point is the secret to finishing out strong for those players on the roster bubble.

"Just do your best to keep your routine," Chenal said on Wednesday. "Because I think it's so easy just to try to, like, overstudy, take too many supplements on Game Day, or down that line, you go anything like overload yourself, you're going to explode. I feel like the guys, we have been doing a good job in terms of their routine and preparedness. I would just say, keep doing that. Keep being confident. Because, they're football players that got here for a reason, and so you seem to trust that. And trust the coaches that they're putting you out there for a reason."

One of the position groups with the most competition in Kansas City is the wide receiver group. Asked about his advice for young players in that room, he preached making the most of your chances to put good things on tape for evaluators across the league.

"My advice to them is that every opportunity to make the best of it," Smith-Schuster told reporters. "For a lot of young guys, throughout the preseason, you get those chances to go out there, you work whether it's blocking, making plays, catching the football, it's also for other scouts, all other 31 teams, to look at our film, vice versa. So, what they put on tape is good; they're all getting evaluated, and for the guys to make this team, just knowing every position. Go out there, be coachable, be a sponge, and just basically make the most of your opportunities."