It is unlikely there would ever be a public confirmation of the mistake the Chiefs made in slicing Pollard last season as part of the final cutdown before the regular season.  But, bet on the fact that internally the organization knows that situation wasn’t handled very well.

They dropped a young player who had been a starter and got nothing for him in return.  Pollard landed with the Texans where he became a starter and a key player for the Houston defense.

Let’s remember that the Texans finished the season with a 9-7 record, quite a bit ahead of the 4-12 season put up by the Chiefs.  It wasn’t like there was a major improvement in the Chiefs defensive production with Pollard out of the lineup and Mike Brown in at one of the starting safety spots.

Don’t get me wrong, Bernard Pollard was not an All-Pro safety in 2008 or 2009.  He’s not a player without flaws.  But releasing him without compensation was a bad decision by the Chiefs.  Releasing him and not replacing him with a better player was a bad decision by the Chiefs.

That brings us to Page.  It’s quite obvious that he does not fit the Chiefs future on defense.  He didn’t fit last year when he lost his starting job to Jon McGraw.  There’s no question that the head coach and player had their differences in the time when Page was still on the roster and not moved to the injured-reserve list with a calf problem.

A divorce is needed, but both sides are concerned about looking bad with the breakup, so they are putting off what is inevitable – Page will play for somebody else in 2010 and the Chiefs will move on.  In fact, they already have.  They just need to make it official.

The Chiefs should continue doing exactly what they’ve been doing.  At this point there’s virtually no chance Page plays in Kansas City this year but that doesn’t mean they need to cut bait.

I’m not worried that Page will run off to another team (Gretz suggests the Lions) and have a huge impact, but that’s not the point.  The point is that you can’t let your players pout their way out of town.  It’s how they handled Waters last year and that situation worked itself out.  This will likely end much differently but the approach should stay the same.

92 Chan Gailey, offensive coordinator: Smartest man at Arrowhead Stadium.  Collected a fat paycheck for sitting on his can while Todd Haley made a fool of himself trying to serve as head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.  Gailey’s image is untarnished after being fired by Haley before the start of the season.

I understand Whitlock’s job is just to say crazy things, I do.  But at what point does it get old railing on Todd Haley?  He was never this hard on Herm Edwards early on, even though Herm was at least equally inconsistent.  Instead of practicing the patience he preaches, Whitlock writes a 3,342-word manifesto about how terrible Haley is at his job.

Chiefs guard Brian Waters spoke to the media yesterday for the first time this season and suggested that the team does not need to improve the offensive line before next season.

“The last two years, I don’t think that some of my offensive linemates have been judged properly.  I feel a lot of eyes that have been judging some of my teammates are unqualified eyes.  There are a lot of people basing their opinions off what they know, and a lot of people don’t know football.

“In our position, everything is all about what other guys do.  Everything is about how many times the quarterback got hit or it’s all about how many rushing yards we had.  We’re pretty much (tied) to the numbers.”

No one can say the Chiefs line didn’t improve as the season went along, but that doesn’t mean they should ignore the offensive line during the offseason.  Especially with where the Chiefs are slotted — likely out of the Suh and Berry zone — if they have a tackle on top of their board they shouldn’t pass on him because of a handful of good weeks to finish the season.

If they can bring in a legitimate left tackle, that would allow Branden Albert to move to guard and the line is immediately better than it was at it’s better points in 2009.

USA Today gave away their final weekly awards of the regular season and while picking Chris Johnson over Jamaal Charles was obvious, the selection of a former Chief on the other side of the ball was a bit more curious.

Bernard Pollard. The Texans safety had big-play impact in the victory that provided the franchise with its first-ever winning record.  Pollard recovered a Fred Taylor fumble in the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter, then snuffed out a fourth-quarter threat by intercepting a Tom Brady pass.

A solid game, no doubt.  And one of more importance to the season which was likely the deciding factor, but how do you not give the nod to Derrick Johnson?  Instead of giving him the top honor after Johnson, they pushed DJ down to the bottom of their list as “Comeback Player of the Week”.  Obviously I could be biased, but I couldn’t possibly give Pollard the award over Johnson.

Speaking of Pollard, how crazy is it that he was the player Wes Welker was trying to cut away from when he tore up his knee?  What are the odds that the same player that ended Tom Brady’s season last season would be at Welker’s feet for his final play.  If the Patriots never see Pollard again it will be too soon.

The Houston Texans cut linebacker Buster Davis today and auditioned four veteran free agent linebackers, according to a league source.

The Texans also worked out veteran linebackers Monty Beisel, Rocky Boiman, Darnell Bing and Brandon Renkart.

Pollard is already starting for Houston and has averaged 6.5 tackles over the last two games.  With the problems they are having at linebacker, Beisel could step in and play immediately.

In order to make room for Pollard on the roster, the Texans have placed G Chester Pitts on injured reserved.  Pitts just underwent major knee surgery that ended his season.

Pollard, a second round pick in 2006, started all 16 games for the Chiefs last season and was one of the final cuts Kansas City made before the start of the regular season.  David Gibbs, the Texans’ secondary coach, was on the Chiefs staff last season and knows what Pollard brings to the table.

I’m surprised it took Pollard this long to find a job in the league.  Even if you don’t feel he is a starting safety in this league anymore — and obviously plenty of people feel that way — there is no denying the value he holds as a special teams player.

Big hits can change the momentum of a game and I know that if the Texans put him on the field, Pollard will help change a game for them in the return game.

Of the 14 players cut, 6 were from the offensive side of the ball:

TE Tom Crabtree, G Darryl Harris, WR Taurus Johnson, WR Ashley Lelie, RB Javarris Williams and WR Rodney Wright.

Also from the offense, G Colin Brown was placed on IR.

The remaining cuts, from the defense, were:

CB Jackie Bates, DE Dion Gales, DE Bobby Greenwood, DT Derek Lokey, S Bernard Pollard, S Ricky Price and LB Zach Thomas.

I am 99% sure that these are not actually their “final” cuts, thus the oxymoronic title.  Not only has Todd  Haley been clear that the current Chiefs are competing against every player in the league, but also Kansas City sits third on the waiver wire so they will get most players they put claims on.

Pollard is obviously the name that jumps out.  He should have plenty of teams lining up for his services.  I’m really bummed, he’s a solid player.

The other cuts on defense were expected.  Once the retirement rumors started with Thomas you knew his time was up here.  I thought Lokey might get some run in the middle, but it looks like the team will go with just Edwards and Tyler and rotate in the ends on passing downs.

On offense, I really thought Lelie did enough to make the team.  The Chiefs are still in dire need of a burner that can hold onto the ball (meaning Quinten Lawrence doesn’t count).

Colin Brown wouldn’t get through waivers, so the Chiefs stash him on IR for the season…  Smart move by Scott Pioli.

The Chiefs drafted both players in 2006, Pollard in the second round and Page in the seventh, and in doing so envisioned a day when they would be pillars of a defense that was competitive or better.  They are hopeful this is the year.  Page is already there, having given the Chiefs many such plays in his two seasons as a starter.  The wait for Pollard has been longer and at times painful but could be over if his training-camp play is any indication.

The Chiefs signed veteran safety Mike Brown shortly before camp to challenge Pollard for his starting spot.  The competition hasn’t materialized and may in fact be finished, according to Brown.

“I’m definitely out here competing but I realize my role.  Those are their spots.  I’m just here in case something happens to them.  I’ll be able to come in and play a high level.  I’m here to provide some depth.  If there’s any insight I can give, I’m willing to do that.  They’re two young, extremely good safeties and I enjoy watching them play.  They both bring a little something different to the table.  Bernard is extremely physical and has great power.  Page is the great free safety with range and incredible hands and incredible athletic ability.”

The switch to the 3-4 system and coordinator Clancy Pendergast’s system could benefit Pollard.

“I really love it because it kind of gets me (closer) to the line of scrimmage.  I won’t have to line up and play cover 2 every snap or stay back.  I’m able to come up and get closer and make plays.  That’s what I did in college.  That’s more my game.  I’m happy with where I am and I’m happy with the changes and the new scheme and the new system.  I’m ready to play some ball.”

I’m ready for Pollard to play some ball too.  Over the past couple of seasons he has earned his “Bonecrusher” nickname, but as Teicher noted he has struggled in coverage and that has to improve, no matter where he lines up.  It has to be encouraging that all of the talk during camp has surrounded the defensive line and linebackers.  Sure it would be nice to have praise lavished over the DBs every day, but it also means they aren’t getting destroyed either.  There is enough talent there to get the job done and that’s something we can’t yet say about the rest of the defense.

When the Kansas City Chiefs relocate their training camp to St. Joseph, Missouri next season there will be a new radio station covering the team.

Last year, local sports fans couldn’t even listen to the University of Missouri football games on the radio.  This year, they’re going to get a wealth of local sports on the radio, thanks to a decision by Eagle Communications, which plans to merge ESPN and St. Joseph sports.

The broadcasting company is shifting the format of KSFT 1550 AM from 1960s and 70s “gold” music to all-sports.  The change is planned for Aug. 25.

Daytime hours will include ESPN’s popular lineup, such as “Mike & Mike in the Morning,” “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” and “The Scott Van Pelt Show.”

But plans also are to amplify local content significantly.  The station expects to broadcast a high school “game of the week,” focusing on the five St. Joseph high schools and a Saturday morning coaches’ show as well as an hour-long weekday call-in program featuring local high schools, colleges and Big 12 teams.

The other significant factor, GM Gary Exline said, is the Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to move their summer training camp to Missouri Western.  The Chiefs will spend about three weeks in August next year practicing on the Western campus.

“The camp next summer drove part of this decision.  We felt we needed to have a station devoted day-to-day at that camp.”

I’m a radio geek — that’s my world — so I hope the station follows through with the local programming because there is nothing worse than a sports station that simply flips on national shows and walks away.  In order to be worth listening to, you have to deliver local stories and commentary.  Camp next year should be much busier than River Falls, since it’s not a big deal for any TV or radio station in Kansas City to camp out with the Chiefs.

The Chiefs first preseason game at Arrowhead Stadium should allow us to get a good look at the team’s first round draft pick, Tyson Jackson.  But don’t expect to see the Texans top pick.

Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing won’t play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Chiefs because of a sprained left knee.  Cushing did not practice Wednesday and instead watched both workouts with a brace on his knee.

Cushing, the 15th overall pick in the draft, is expected to start at outside linebacker.  The four-year starter as Southern California led the nation’s second ranked defense with 10.5 tackles for losses last year.

I’m bummed.  There’s been so much hype around all of the USC defensive players, I was curious to see how Cushing was coming along at this level.  I’m hoping to see a lot of Connor Barwin Saturday, a guy that I was very high on coming out of Cincinnati.

Most years there isn’t much worth watching during the first and last preseason game, but the Chiefs are a wild card this season with a whole new staff and scheme.  So far Todd Haley has been very vague about how much his players will be on the field, but here’s to hoping we get a good look at all of the rookies at the very least.

It’s midway through Kansas City’s first of two daily practices and Matt Cassel fades back to pass.  QBs in training camp are not supposed to be hit in camp, but in this drill, with Cassel setting up in the pocket, safety Bernard Pollard comes on a blitz.

What makes the play even more amazing is that Tom Brady got hit last year when a back missed a block on the onrushing Pollard.  And as I’m watching, I can’t believe what I see: Again, a back throws an ¡Ole!block, and precisely the same thing that happened a year ago happens now: Pollard thought he was going to be blocked by a running back last year against New England, got low to take on the block, wasn’t blocked, and fell into Brady.  Now, he thought he was going to be blocked by a running back, got low, wasn’t blocked, and stumbled and tried to avoid hitting Cassel, yelling at the last moment, “Move!”  It was too late.  He fell hard and rolled into Cassel’s left leg.

Barely.

Pollard was able to put on the brakes enough so that he only tapped Cassel’s left leg.  Cassel flexed it a couple of times and was fine.  A couple of his offensive mates hustled in to defend him against Pollard.  Words were exchanged, but that was it.  No harm, no foul.

“Pretty weird,” a smiling Cassel told me an hour later. “Yeah, I realized it.”

I caught Pollard after lunch on campus.  His eyes got wide when I asked him about the play.  “I got to the sidelines after that play,” Pollard said, “and I realized what happened, and I thought, — OH MY GOD! It’s like a replay.”

Can you even imagine?  Pollard, the man that gave Cassel the chance to be the $63 million dollar man, knocks him out for the season.  I don’t even know how the place would react.  Clearly someone on the offense would have knocked Pollard into next week since there were words for him simply rolling up next to him.  But where would you even go from there?  Do you have to cut the safety immediately?  Normally you’d chalk it up to it just being football, but during what is supposed to be non-contact time for quarterbacks, it’s hard to take that position.

All I have to say is…  WHEW!  Oh, and…  Stay on your feet Bernard.

Abare was a Buck Buchanan Award Finalist (Top Defensive Player), a Walter Camp First-team All-America and a Sporting Network Second-team All-America selection in 2008.  A First-team All-Ivy and All-New England selection, he led Yale with 86 tackles (55 solo, 31 assisted) and was tied for the team lead with four interceptions.  A team captain and Yale’s Most Valuable Player of the Year as a senior, Abare was also a First-team All-Ivy and All-New England selection as a sophomore and junior.

Yale ‘s leading tackler the past three seasons, Abare participated in a min-icamp with with the Kansas City Chiefs in May before electing to pursue a collegiate coaching career.  In addition to his coaching responsibilities at Wagner, Abare will also be pursuing a masters degree.  Head Coach Walt Hameline is excited to add someone like Abare to the Wagner program.

“His passion and knowledge of the game will be major assets and I think he is well-equipped to translate that success to our players.”

Back when the Chiefs brought him in for a look, I thought he could be a perfect guy to steal a roster spot.  Not only did he have a stellar collegiate career (even against lower competition) but he seemed to fit the “tough, smart football player” profile that Scott Pioli and Todd Haley value.  Good luck at Wagner, Bobby.

Chiefs WR Terrance Copper is hoping the fourth stop in his NFL career will be his last.

Copper, who has 46 receptions for 600 yards and six touchdowns in his career, is looking to bounce back strong following an injury-plagued, frustrating season where he split time with the Saints and Ravens.  The 6-0, 207-pound receiver suffered a neck injury last year, while an illness cost him 12 pounds, and a lot of strength.

“I’m feeling a lot better.  I’m stronger.  I went through mini-camp and OTAs with no injuries.  I took care of my body a lot, and I’m still continuing to do that.”

Copper joins a team that went just 2-14 last year, the worst record in franchise history.  However, the sixth-year receiver believes the Chiefs have a chance to do some impressive things this year.

“This team is a lot like the (20)06 Saints.  They were 3-13 and then ended up going to the NFC Championship game the next year. This team reminds me a lot of that team.  We have a new quarterback coming in and a new coaching staff.  All of the players are down to earth and everybody is willing to work.”

Copper, known mainly for his standout play on special teams (41 special-teams tackles and 26 kickoff returns for 502 yards), is hoping to make an impact at receiver.  However, he’ll play wherever he is needed.

“I’m going to be put wherever I need to be put to help win the game.  I’m not worried about that right now. Everything will take care of itself.  We have a good receiving corps.  I think we have a young receiving corps, but they’re good from top to bottom.  I’m excited about this year.”

Finding himself in four different color uniforms over the first five years of his career, Copper is hoping he’ll be wearing the red and yellow of the Chiefs for some time.

“My favorite color is red, that’s a plus for me.  I’m with a new team, it’s a fresh start and I’m excited about it.”

There has been a lot of talk about the lack of depth at wide receiver, and rightfully so, but there is also plenty of potential.  We know how good Bowe could be, but there are guys like Mark Bradley, Devard Darling and Bobby Engram all who have the ability to be the No. 2 WR on this team if they can put it all together in training camp.  Then you have veterans like Copper, Jeff Webb and rookies Taurus Johnson and Quinten Lawrence who will all be fighting for that final receiver spot.  It certainly isn’t Boldin-Fitzgerald-Breaston, but the Chiefs could end up putting out a solid receiving corps on the field.

Over at the Red Zone Blog, Kent Babb has been analyzing the Chiefs position-by-position over the past couple of weeks.  Today he tackles (pun intended) the defensive backs and hands out his final grades.

TALENT: B+ — Brandon Flowers had first-round talent last year when the Chiefs grabbed him in the second round.  Brandon Carr was a fifth-rounder, and Maurice Leggett went undrafted — but both became starters.  Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard have plenty to prove, but Mike Brown is there to either push the Herm Edwards holdovers or take one of their jobs.  Either way, Brown will be a factor.

CHEMISTRY: A — It occasionally was an uncomfortable assignment for three rookies to start and finish games for the Chiefs last season, but they proved themselves capable.  All of Kansas City’s defensive backs seem to have good rapport because, if nothing else, they have shared in some difficult times together.

EXPERIENCE: B- — The Chiefs’ top four cornerbacks have one year or less of experience, but they did play significant amounts last season.  The youngsters will be better in 2009 than a year ago, but they still might carry with them some growing paints.

OUTLOOK: A- — The Chiefs’ most reliable position should enter the 2009 season in good shape.  Pollard must show improvement from last season, and he’s the more likely candidate to relinquish his starting job to Brown, who is a natural free safety but whose talent allows him to shift to the strong safety position, too.

With the front seven going through the biggest change in scheme, it’s more important than ever for the defensive backfield to lead the way for the Chiefs defense.  No matter what his role ends up being, a healthy Mike Brown will go a long way to solidifying the defensive backfield.  And if he does earn a starting spot, maybe that means we see even more from Pollard on special teams.  For a coach that is putting so much emphasis on special teams, the more you have someone like Pollard on the field, the better your special teams are going to be.

The starting job was supposed to be Brad Cottam’s job to take.  Now, it could go to any of the Chiefs five remaining tight ends and Haley wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We went from being thin to having a nice competition.  We’ve got some guys who have some potential and look like they’re pretty hungry and are pretty serious about making a fight for it. He’s (Cottam) one of them.  There are some pretty competitiveve guys there who realize there is a window of opportunity and a legitimate shot.”

Among those are rookies Jake O’Connell, whom the Chiefs drafted this year in the seventh round, and undrafted free agent Tom Crabtree.  Haley singled out both players this week as being in the mix.  They should be used to pushing each other and competing for playing time and catches: They were teammates at Miami of Ohio, where O’Connell had 46 career catches and Crabtree 40.

Neither possesses Cottam’s 6-foot-7 frame, but both enter the NFL with more experience as a receiving tight end than Cottam, who was drafted last year in the third round with blocking in mind.  Cottam said this week that he has spent long hours working on catching passes, an effort that has had its encouraging and disappointing moments, but the Chiefs aren’t in a position to gamble with any position.  With an unproven group of wide receivers and a cluster of young tight ends — 29-year-old Sean Ryan is the only one older than 26 — quarterback Matt Cassel’s options aren’t yet as dependable as the Chiefs would like.

Haley acknowledged that Cottam has the experience edge in the Chiefs’ offense as offseason practice winds down and concludes next week, but that won’t guarantee him the starting job.  Haley said Cottam’s size occasionally works against him, causing several stumbles during last weekend’s mini-camp, and Haley is waiting for one of the Chiefs’ five tight ends to shorten the gap between a star such as Gonzalez and the man who will at least line up in Gonzalez’s old starting spot.

The “every job is an open competition” line is hard to believe for a lot of players (Cassel, Bowe, Flowers, etc.) but it would be naive for anyone to think the job is still Cottam’s to lose.  Once Gonzalez was traded I definitely thought Cottam would step right in and be given the job, but now that Haley and Scott Pioli have seen the first round of practices the job will go to whoever gets the best jump out of the blocks during training camp.

With OTAs coming to an end, the Chiefs so far have remained injury free.  And as Bob Gretz reports, outside of the obvious reasons for wanting to avoid injuries, players also want to avoid the work that comes with being on the rehab field.

Yesterday, Glenn Dorsey was able to work with the full squad during practice for the first time since workouts started.  No longer was he exiled to the rehab field and he couldn’t be happier.

“I’m so glad to be off that field and back in practice.  I’m telling you, there’s nobody that wants to be on that (rehab) field.  Nobody.”

The Chiefs are taking on the attitude about injuries that stems from the Bill Parcells School of Coaching.  To paraphrase the Big Tuna’s thoughts on injured players is this: he doesn’t believe in them.  If there’s not a bone sticking out, or evidence of a ligament being torn in half, then it’s not an injury.

On Thursday, QB Brodie Croyle, RB Kolby Smith and DT Ron Edwards were not the only players who had physical problems on the field.  They were the ones that had to rehab with the strength and conditioning coaches.  There were players in the practice who probably in another year or situation would have been watching and not taking part.  DT Tank Tyler is bothered by a sore knee.  He spent a few days on the rehab field, but hasn’t been back.  Nobody wants any part of that field and that’s just fine by Haley.

“It doesn’t look like a lot of fun, which is the idea.  (Dorsey) He has been working really hard over there and he has been chomping at the bit to get into the action.  Quite frankly, that is the way we like it. We would like it to be a little more fun to practice than to be on the rehab field.”

Those players forced to rehab generally start out on stationary bikes.  But they aren’t just cruising through the pedals, reading a magazine or watching soap operas.  Coaches Cedric Smith and Brent Salazar stand there with a stop watch, timing their work and effort.  After that, they may push a weighted sled contraption for awhile, or pick up a barbell or hand weights and carry them the length of a football field, and then back.  There can be sprints and longer runs around the field.  Turk McBride spent a few early practices on the rehab team and doesn’t want to go back.

“It’s miserable over there.  You work harder than you do in practice, but you aren’t in practice.  You don’t get anything football out of it.  It’s necessary, but you don’t want any part of that bike patrol.”

Ah, another welcome change from the way Herm Edwards ran things.  I can remember last year’s training camp and seeing “injured” players sitting on a bike just casually pedaling along with one hand on the handle bar and the other on a bottle of water.  I promise you we will not see that image once up in River Falls.  Also, it’s great to see Dorsey back on the field and running with the first team.  A lot has been made of his switch to DE and he is going to need all the reps he can get if he’s going to be ready to go come kickoff in Baltimore.

We’ve talked about it before, but you can never focus too much on just how much charity work the Kansas City Chiefs organization performs every single year.  The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, IN has the story of how Bernard Pollard came to add his name to the list of Chiefs players with their own charity.

Pollard wanted to start a charity but figured people would assume he was just another athlete starting a charity to get notoriety, so he held off.  But with the struggles facing some families around his hometown of Fort Wayne, the Kansas City Chiefs starting defensive back felt he couldn’t wait any longer.  So Pollard and his wife, Meghan, developed Pollard’s Helping Hands.

One of the first tasks is to help at home, feeding families and kids who need it most.  Pollard is doing everything he can to make his charity a success.

“Our main thing is helping the community and being able to do things in Fort Wayne and trying to take that work load off them.  Everybody understands what the economy is right now. It’s just about helping and just remembering to do things for people.  We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to make ends meet, as far as playing football and doing the things we’ve done in life. I feel like that’s my calling, and that’s what I need to do. So we’re going to get it done.”

A monetary donation to the charity will go toward supplying the families of Meadowbrook Elementary with a voucher that can be used at the Community Harvest Food Bank during the 10 weeks of summer break, starting Saturday and ending Aug. 15.  Meghan Pollard said they’re hoping to provide at least 50 families with a voucher to receive 50 pounds of food a week.  The estimated cost is about $475 a week.

You can mail donations to Pollard’s Helping Hands, P.O. Box 23701, Shawnee Mission, KS, 66283, or donate online at www.gkccf.org.  For more information you can email pollardshelpinghands@hotmail.com.

It never amazes me the amount of charities that are aligned with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise and their players.  It is a shame that Pollard — or any player — would hold off on starting a charity because of negative public perceptions.  Anyone that would rail on a player for charity work definitely needs a new hobby.  Great work, Bernard…  Keep it up.

Brady’s season was ended on Sept. 7th when the helmet of Pollard smashed into his knee on New England’s 15th snap of last season.  Kansas City was blitzing, the hit appeared accidental and was not flagged by the officials.  Brady says he never felt any anger towards Pollard.

“It’s football.  There’s no way he owes me an explanation.”

Good for Brady.  It’s good to see he responded better than the league, which for some reason decided to implement the “Brady Rule”, in which “a defender on the ground who hasn’t been blocked or fouled directly into the quarterback from lunging or diving at the quarterback’s lower legs.”  It’s too bad Pollard was, in fact, partially blocked in Brady’s direction.  Brady could have easily been bitter towards Pollard, especially on the heels of the league playing Mommy for him.

Yesterday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones met with DE Greg Ellis.  Afterwards, Jones said the veteran would be traded or released and that it should happen in the next few days.  Bob Gretz thinks Ellis could end up in Kansas City.

As a vested veteran, Ellis doesn’t have to go through the waiver system so he will be able to decide where he will play in 2009.  That would probably be the best way for the Chiefs to pick him up, rather than through a trade.  Ellis is set to make $4.15 million this year in the final season of his contract.  That would not be a problem for the Chiefs to fit into their cap situation.  And with Dallas on the hook for $1.5 million of that total in guarantees.  The Chiefs could pick him up, Ellis could still get his $4.15 million and it would only cost $3 million.

I’m not sure the Chiefs need to add any more players along their defensive front, but even at the age of 33 Ellis almost had more sacks than the entire Kansas City defense last year (8 to 10).  I want to see Tyson Jackson, Glenn Dorsey and Alex Magee get as many snaps as possible coming off the end this season and having a guy like Ellis around would cut into that playing time.  Though after last year’s historically bad output, I can’t complain too much if they bring in a pure pass rusher like Ellis.

Former Chiefs LB/FB Boomer Grigsby is trying to make the Houston Texans roster as a backup to FB Vota Leach after being out of football for most of 2008.  Grigsby wants to make sure he’s not in that situation again.

“I wanted to come to a team (where) I had a legit opportunity to play.  Houston made it pretty clear to me that it’s been a system that’s kept two. … I hope I can make (Leach) better or compete with him. If I can get on the field, I’m going to get on the field, but it’s also no secret I thought that I’d make a roster covering kicks.”

Grigsby even told the people of Houston how his nickname came to be and stick.

“The day I was born, my grandma named me ‘Boomer’.  I came out wider than I was long, I think I was a little roly-poly-like, and she nicknamed me Boomer.  I think a lot of people grow out of their nickname. I grew more into it. Checks are signed with it, it’s on bank accounts; it’s become who I am, and it’s who I’ll always be. No one in my family has ever called me James.”

Last month when he signed I was just hopeful he would stick long enough to show Houston what he’s made of because once they see how hard he plays it will be tough to cut the guy.  Talk about a player that will run through a wall for the team on every single play.  I still contend Boomer would flourish under the Pioli/Haley regime and who knows, maybe he’ll end up back in Kansas City if things don’t work out with the Texans.