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Regrets may come later, if the upcoming season ends and Chiefs are looking back at a second straight season without a trip to the playoffs.
In that case, the Chiefs might truly lament their inability to interest Peyton Manning in Kansas City or the fact they didn’t secure themselves at wide receiver in case their franchise player, Dwayne Bowe, doesn’t sign a contract.
It’s too late for any of that now, too late for the Chiefs to make any more impact moves. They will conclude their offseason practice this week with a three-day minicamp that begins today and their roster will, with the possible exception of some minor changes, be identical to the one they will bring to Missouri Western in St. Joseph for the start of training camp next month.
Coach Romeo Crennel indicated the Chiefs are content taking their chances with that.
“We have some good talent on the roster,’’ Crennel said. “We have better depth overall than what we’ve had in the past. I feel decent about it. If we find a good player that’s available, we’ll still bring him in and add him.
“The only thing I would like to do better is put pads on them and see how they do, but we’re not able to do that. What we’ve learned during the offseason program, I think the guys have had the opportunity to get into the classroom and then get out here on the field and learn technique and learn the system. I think we’ve made progress in that.”
The Chiefs started their offseason by filling holes at cornerback and right tackle by signing Stanford Routt and Eric Winston. They secured some necessary depth at running back and tight end by signing Peyton Hillis and Kevin Boss.
Later, they took care of other needs by drafting nose tackle Dontari Poe in the first round and signing safety Abram Elam, who gives the Chiefs some experienced depth at a position where both starters, Eric Berry and Kendrick Lewis, are recovering from surgeries.
The result is a roster with no obvious holes, particularly if Bowe signs in time for the start of training camp.
“We’re light, probably, at the linebacker position overall,’’ Crennel said. “When you look at the guys on the team, we’re probably heavy at the secondary and at wide receiver and we’re light at the linebacker position. From a training-camp perspective, you might try to add a wide receiver to add a little depth in case somebody goes down in training camp.
“But overall, the team is in pretty good shape.”
Crennel indicated the Chiefs’ roster is deeper and more talented than any of the four he had as the head coach with the Browns in the 2000s. Cleveland had one winning season in six before Crennel was hired as head coach in 2005, largely because of lousy drafting.
In 2008, which turned out to be Crennel’s last season in Cleveland, the Browns traded away their top three picks, leaving them with nothing from that year’s draft.
Crennel’s Browns managed to win 10 games in 2007 but otherwise were never better than 6-10.
“The circumstance in Cleveland was different,’’ Crennel said. “We had to try to build it up and at least here you had draft choices in place. You have Pro Bowl players in place. It’s a little better overall.”
The Chiefs may not be done tinkering with their roster, though. They added a handful of players, including Elam, in recent weeks.
“You’re never done with player acquisition because you can always add a guy at any point in time,’’ Crennel said. “I tell players, ‘You can get cut at any day.’ We’re at our limit right now, which is 90, but if we bring somebody in, then somebody has to go. I tell those guys that as well, so they won’t be surprised if they walk in here one day and they’re told that they have to pack up or have to come see me. They understand that this is part of the business, and I think in this game, you’re always looking for players that you might add if you think they are better or they can help you. You add them and you have to move on with somebody else.”
