Cottam is now free to continue rehabbing with the Chiefs, but will not count against the 80-man roster as the club opens training camp.  We’ll likely see him active in the “rehab zone” located on the sidelines of practice sessions.

Essentially, Cottam is in the same boat as RB Kolby Smith was at the beginning of training camp last season.  By being placed on Reserve/PUP, Cottam is not eligible to play for the first six weeks of the season.

Once Week Six passes, Cottam will then have a three-week window to practice with the team.  During that time frame, the club must make a decision to either waive the player, place the player on injured reserve or activate the player to the 53-man roster.

And it all works out for the best.  Both in my first guess at the 53-man roster and when Cottam was waived, I hoped that he would try and work through his neck injury on PUP.  This will force Cottam to take his time coming back, because he will no doubt be in a hurry to get back on the field and prove that he’s healthy.

According to Adam Caplan the Chiefs have waived Brad Cottam after a failed physical, though the team has yet to confirm the move.  He will be replaced on the roster by UDFA Leroy Banks.

Banks (6-3, 243, Southern Mississippi) was signed as an undrafted free agent with the Falcons before being awarded to Kansas City via a waiver claim in May.  He was then waived by the Chiefs in June.  He played 23 games in two seasons at Southern Mississippi, catching 34 passes for 462 yards with four TDs.

It really is a shame that Cottam won’t be sticking around in Kansas City.  I was hoping that he would hang on via the Physically Unable to Perform list and recover during the first half of the season, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here.  He’ll go home with a paycheck, but it’s a sad end to Cottam’s disappointing Chiefs career.

Banks is a guy that impressed during his short time with the Chiefs during OTAs and looked like he would be in the running to be a part of the final 53, but was then waived last month so Kansas City could get their roster down to the required 80 players.  Clearly Todd Haley and Scott Pioli have thought twice about that decision and Banks will try to recreate the impressive showing he had during OTAs except this time in pads.

“It hurt,” Cottam said remembering the moment.  “But I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a problem.  You take a breath and you go back and play.  That’s football.

“I was up in the air and I couldn’t maneuver my landing after he (Browns LB Matt Roth) hit me.  For a split second I might have blacked out, but I came too and adrenalin keeps you going.  I’m very lucky it wasn’t a lot worse.”

After the game, Cottam underwent an x-ray, grabbed a shower and got dressed.  It was a few hours after the game before they came in and told him what the x-ray showed.  The words “broken neck” conjure up images that no player – heck no person – likes to deal with.

Did his career flash before his eyes?

“Sure it does,” said Cottam.  “When they are telling you something like that, football suddenly becomes not as important.  It sets your priorities straight and you realize how lucky you were.  I just know it could have been a whole, whole lot worse.”

Obviously we get caught up in what Cottam could possibly provide for the Chiefs on the field next year, but we shouldn’t over look how lucky he already is no matter if he plays again or not.  We’ve seen players land the same way Cottam did and never walk again, yet here he is with a chance to possibly contribute between the lines again.

No doubt the Chiefs doctors will wait until Cottam is completely in the clear before giving him the green light.  Even then don’t be surprised if they wait an extra week to be safe.  This isn’t something that you can just tape up and move along.  There is no room for a misdiagnosis here, so we all need to be very patient with Cottam during training camp (and beyond).

“If I thought there was any increased chance of something bad happening because of the injury, I would not have come back.  They tell me I’ll be able to play without any more concerns than normal.  As long as that’s the case, I’ll be on the field.”

GM Scott Pioli was asked several weeks ago if Cottam will be ready for the start of training camp after rehabbing a broken neck: “That’s something that people far smarter than myself will decide.”

Any injury above the shoulders has to be frightening for any player and the team doctors will make sure Cottam is in the clear and then probably hold him for another week just to be safe.

Due to all of the uncertainty about when he might be cleared for contact, I think Cottam will kick off the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.  Until we see him in pads, on the field and take a hit that’s where we will have to assume he will end up.

The battle to be the starting tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs is likely to last deep into training camp.  The biggest question remains, will Brad Cottam be a part of that competition?  Kent Babb caught up with Cottam after another session the Volunteer was forced to sit out due to a neck injury suffered last season against the Cleveland Browns.

“It’s terrible.  It’s hard to watch,” Cottam said. “I’m trying to help the new guys and pay attention as much as I can, but you want to get out there.”

Cottam said he’s uncertain when he might return to football activities, instead of the conditioning work he’s been doing on an adjoining field.  He said he wore a collar to stabilize his neck until just before Kansas City began activities last month.

Cottam said Tuesday that, as frustrating as it was to have his season end after a breakout contest, the more pressing matter was that he temporarily lost feeling in his left arm.

“At that point,” Cottam said, “it was a matter of: ‘Am I going to walk or not?’  It was a very, very scary experience.”

He said he was assured later that, barring an unforeseen circumstance, the injury would heal and he wouldn’t face paralysis or long-term effects.

Cottam said he has seen different doctors throughout the offseason and that his progress is week-to-week.

“For me,” he said, “all I can do is get everything done mentally and make sure I know the system.”

Between Cottam and Moeaki, two of their most promising young tight ends will be dogged by the injury questions until they can stay on the field and be productive.

You never want to make too much out of one game against a bad team, but Cottam’s play against the Browns last year before he got hurt was exciting to watch.  It was the type of game I expected to see out of him plenty during his first 29 games before that one.

If you put Moeaki’s potential to the side, it sure looks like the starting job could be Leonard Pope’s to lose.  He has never been a blow-you-away type of guy, but he’s the definition of solid.  With the additions of Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones, there shouldn’t be any need for a standout performance at tight end.

Hampered by a rash of injuries in college, the 6-7, 265-pounder started just 10 games – six as a junior and four as a senior.  On those rare occasions when he was healthy, however, he proved to be one of the most dangerous tight ends in college football.  He caught only two passes as a sophomore and five as a senior but sandwiched those injury-plagued seasons around a junior year which saw him catch 14 balls for 182 yards.  Although he finished his college career with just 21 receptions, his 16.2 yards-per-catch averaged convinced the Kansas City Chiefs to select him in Round 3 of the 2008 NFL Draft.

Cottam was a non-factor for virtually his entire rookie year in 2008 and most of last season.  Then when he finally seemed to “get it” at the end of last season, he suffered a neck injury that he is still yet to recover from.

The one thing we always knew about Cottam is that if he’s healthy he will provide all you could ask for when it comes to blocking.  The question was always how much he could deliver in the passing game.  At 6-7/270, Cottam has the potential to be a huge weapon but he needs to stay on the field.

If he isn’t able to recover by the time training camp rolls around, he could get buried on the depth chart by veteran Leonard Pope and third round pick Tony Moeaki.

A player like G Colin Brown is a perfect example.  Here’s a player who the Chiefs brass were excited to develop as a rookie coming out of Missouri last summer.  Brown began as a tackle and then moved to guard for a short time before suffering a knee injury.  Brown is now ready to go and you can bet that he’ll be evaluated day-in and day-out as to where he fits on this roster.  That evaluation was diminished dramatically a year ago.

Then there’s the case of TE Brad Cottam.  His high hopes to earn the starting tight end job came crashing down in training camp last year.  He found himself third on the depth chart and inactive for a handful of games before finally working his way back to the game field, little by little.  Late in the season, Cottam turned that promise into in-game production before ultimately suffering a neck injury as he stretched for a first down and extra yardage.

Will Brown impress?  Can Cottam continue his ascension as he continues to rehab the injury in the process?  These are just two of the many storylines that begin their 2010 chapter today.

No leaf will be left unturned as the Chiefs begin their journey towards the 2010 season.  The workouts are voluntary, but the majority of the squad is expected to show and participate in the program.  Things are in motion behind the scenes, and even though this day isn’t a headline maker, it’s the start of what leads to headlines in the fall.

Unlike last season, the Chiefs should be able to develop Brown at the bottom of the depth chart thanks to the stability that Ryan Lilja and Casey Wiegmann should deliver.  Last year with all the moving parts, the Chiefs would have had trouble keeping him on the roster if he were healthy.

Cottam, on the other hand, will have another chance to claim the starting TE spot if his neck allows him.  Depending on which way the Chiefs go in the draft, tight end is wide open and Cottam looked the part of a potential offensive threat when he was injured.

“Everything was very successful and went very well,” Haley said.  “He’s already on the road to recovery, which is a big thing.”

Today, Cottam took to his Facebook page to give a quick update.

“saw the doc today and should be out of the neck brace in 2 months.”

Before the injury, Haley was happy to see Cottam finally start to show progress.

“We were all pretty excited about Brad.  He was a guy no different that players like Jamaal (Charles) who have fought through some adversity.  Things that haven’t gone exactly the way that they would have planned or that we would have planned.  He was a guy that I was getting excited about and am still excited about.”

It’s good to see Cottam will be out of his brace and on the road to a full recovery before OTAs.  He really was coming along at the end of the season, even hurting himself making an athletic catch.

Here’s to hoping he can fight his way back to 100% by the time training camp rolls around.

Haley said  he visited Cottam and that he was “doing well.”

“Everything was very successful and went very well,” Haley said.  “He’s already on the road to recovery, which is a big thing.”

Cottam landed awkwardly on his shoulder after being shoved out of bounds in the second half.  He returned to the game, but Haley said Cottam continued to suffer increased discomfort as the hours passed.

An X-ray revealed the cracked bone in Cottam’s upper spine.

After looking like a huge disappointment in training camp and the beginning of the season, Cottam was finally starting to come into his own the last couple of games.  When you have the sort of size and athleticism that he has it’s just a matter of helping him find his way and Haley finally seemed to succeed there.  Hopefully he can come back at full strength for OTAs and training camp and show that he’s ready to play a full season at a high level.

Chiefs starting running back Jamaal Charles will face off against both his predecessor at Texas in Cedric Benson and the man he used to play behind in Larry Johnson.  Charles doesn’t feel any extra pressure going up against the man who’s job he took.

“I don’t go out there to show LJ anything,” Charles said.  “I go out there to show all 32 teams what I can do.  I looked up to LJ.  It’s going to be good to play against both him and Cedric (Benson).”

Cedric Benson is one of only three runners ahead of Charles in the University of Texas rushing record books.  The two runners never shared the same locker room in Austin, but are very aware of one another.  Benson won the Doak Walker Award in 2004, a year before Charles arrived on campus.

At the end of the day, however, Charles doesn’t want to have a big day against the Bengals just to show up Larry Johnson, impress his collegiate predecessor in Cedric Benson or win you a fantasy football championship.  Really, he just wants to have a good birthday.

“I want to have a big game, not because (LJ) is on the other side of the ball, but because it is my birthday on Sunday,” Charles said before pausing and letting out that unique laugh fans are start to grow accustomed to.  “That’s why.”

I know there are a lot of you out there that are counting on Charles to deliver you a fantasy football championship, so he might not care about it but your wallet probably does.  It’s no secret what the Chiefs are going to try and do on offense.  Get Charles going and then hope to use that success to get Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers down the field in single coverage.

And thought winning the game is most important, I’ve heard from a lot of Chiefs fans that will be happy as along as LJ doesn’t have a big day.  Get stomped on by Cedric Benson?  Well, as long as it means LJ is on the sidelines with 15 yards on 6 carries everything will be OK.  I’d rather give LJ his yardage in return for a Chiefs win so he can pound his chest after the game while the Bengals are just hoping to make the playoffs and everyone in Cincinnati can see the real Larry Johnson come out.

Benson will be the focus of the Chiefs defense, but another member of the Bengals offense will be looking to make some noise on Sunday.  Chad Ochocinco is looking to hit a milestone and yesterday he wanted to make sure he was going to get recognition for his accomplishment.

He went looking for Scott Simpson, the Chairman of the (Video) Board at Paul Brown Stadium.

If he becomes the 33rd player in history to catch the 10,000th yard of his career Sunday against the Chiefs, The Ocho thinks it would be nice if they stopped the game and gave him the ball with some Mexican music playing.

Another part of The Ocho says that 10,000 is merely a number on the way to something else.  “How many does Jerry Rice have?” he asked of the man that leads everyone with 22,895.  “When I get there, let me know.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s cool,” said The Ocho about 10 grand, but he still sounded more concerned that his offense function more smoothly than it did last week and that he honor Henry in the right way.

“We should have solidified a playoff spot by now.  We’ll win the division Sunday as long as we handle our business,” Ochocinco said.  “One of the things that makes that possible is limit the turnovers and penalties.  Unless we do that as an offense, we’re unstoppable.  We stopped ourselves last Sunday.  Not to go back to that game.  That’s the only thing that did it.”

I watched the tape of last week’s Bengals game and there was a stretch in the third quarter where their offense looked completely lost.  Between the 5 penalties and following those up with a turnover, they came off the tracks very quickly.  Now, they turned it back around in the fourth by scoring 11 points and ended up losing a heartbreaker to the Chargers but it was ugly for a while.

Whenever the Cincinnati offense hits a road bump in the game — and it will happen — the Chiefs must keep the pressure on and not let them get back on track the way San Diego did last week.