James Winchester (Choctaw Nation) to be named to Final Roster for the Kansas City Chiefs

(Kansas City) – The Kansas City Chiefs waived 11 players on Sunday afternoon to prepare for the NFL’s mandated 75-player roster limit by Sept. 1.  Notably not on the list was Indian Country’s very own James Winchester (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) who was signed earlier this spring to tryout for the Long Snapper position. He was in closely contested battle for the position along side rookie long snapper Andrew East who was 1 of the 11 players waived by Kansas City.

“I think both of them are going to snap in this league,” Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “I think they’re both really good. I think it came down to just the velocity of Winchester. He was just a hair faster.”

In an interview with NDNSPORTS.COM contributing writer Tyler Jones last week, Winchester said on fighting for the spot, “That it’s just about getting better. Continuing to get in the film room and learn. I don’t make the decisions, so I don’t really worry about it. I do all I can control and let the rest take care of itself.”

James started for Kansas City in the teams first two pre-season games with East starting the Friday game against the Tennessee Titans.

“They came out so equal it was crazy,” Reid said. “We would have been happy with either one of them.”

Winchester will begin his second year in the league after signing with the Eagles before being waived last season. He played collegiality at the University of Oklahoma and is listed on the roster at 6-3 and 240 pounds.

He will join other Native American athletes, in the NFL that include Sam Bradford (Philadelphia Eagles/Cherokee),  Bryce Petty (New York Jets/Chickasaw), and Keenan Allen (San Diego Chargers/Lumbee). Tyler Bray (Kansas City Chiefs/Citizen Potawatomi) is listed on the injured reserved list for Kansas City and status has still yet to be decided by the Chiefs as of this writing.