by Ryan Jones on April 15th, 2013 at 11:24pm
The Kansas City Chiefs added a second free agent linebacker in a week, this time inking Akeem Jordan, the team confirmed Monday. They had signed free agent Zac Diles on Friday.
Jordan, the former undrafted free agent out of Division I-AA James Madison, had spent his entire six-year career with Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles. During his time with the Eagles, the linebacker started 34 of 82 games and racked up 184 tackles.
His best season in Philadelphia came in 2009 when he appeared in 12 games (10 starts) and had 71 tackles, six passes defensed, two interceptions and his only career sack. Jordan also played in five playoff games for Reid.
With Tamba Hali and Justin Houston locked in on the outside, Jordan will be competing for a spot behind them both on the depth chart, a spot filled last year by the released Andy Studebaker. Another veteran free agent, Frank Zombo, will be vying for the same role.
Having such a long relationship with Reid, Jordan should have a leg up on Zombo or anyone else fighting for one of those final spots at linebacker.
by Ryan Jones on April 14th, 2013 at 12:32am
As the Kansas City Chiefs continue to try and figure out who they will be taking with the first overall pick in this month’s NFL Draft, they will also be weighing offers from teams interested in acquiring the pick.
With new GM John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid working without a second round pick following the Alex Smith trade, they will no doubt be looking for ways to restock the draft shelves. And the Miami Dolphins — owners of 11 picks — could be the team to help with that task.
In addition to having an abundance of selections, the Dolphins are also still looking to fill the spot left at left tackle by Jack Long’s departure. Miami GM Jeff Ireland knows he has what it takes to get a deal done.
“I’ve got enough ammunition to get to the first pick if I wanted to, but I don’t see myself doing that, personally,” he told the Palm Beach Post.
But Ireland made an interesting note when talking to the paper about drafting linemen early.
“If I get another (Mike) Pouncey and another Jake Long, I would do it every draft. I wish I had a whole team full of Mike Pounceys and Jake Longs, to be honest with you. I know what I’m getting every single day with those guys.”
Owning the 12th pick in the fist round, the Dolphins aren’t going to get a “can’t miss” guy on the line unless somehow Central Michigan tackle Eric Fisher falls. He could, however, get the best lineman available in Texas A&M’s Luke Joeckel by moving into the top spot.
Obviously talking about trading up in the draft isn’t usually the way to go about trading up, but as we’ve seen over the years, Ireland isn’t exactly the most conventional general manager.
I think it still makes the most sense to stay put at the top of the draft and take Joeckel, but would be happy to move back into the 8-15 range and recoup the picks lost in the trade with the San Francisco 49ers.
by Ryan Jones on April 12th, 2013 at 11:52pm
The Kansas City Chiefs added depth to one of their weakest positions Friday when they signed former Kansas State LB Zac Diles.
After entering the league as a seventh round pick of the Houston Texans in 2007, where he spent four seasons. Diles also spent time with the Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans.
His best season was in 2010 with the Texans when he appeared in 15 games (10 starts), racking up 82 tackles.
Despite only starting one game over the last two seasons, Diles is coming to a Chiefs defense that currently has no depth to speak of at inside linebacker. Depending on what they are able to add in the draft, the veteran could be in a great position to land a spot playing next to Derrik Johnson.
Obviously the NFL Draft will give us a better picture of what the Chiefs defense will look like during training camp, but with no depth to speak of at inside linebacker, Diles could have a real chance to land a spot on the Chiefs defense.
by Ryan Jones on April 12th, 2013 at 5:00am
Once the dust settles from the Super Bowl, suddenly there is a new found optimism all around the NFL. After all, every team is in first place! 
Though it isn’t difficult for players or fans to quickly slip into a pessimistic frame of mind when you are coming off a disappointing season, something we saw often last offseason with folks in Kansas City.
That doesn’t seem to be the case this time around despite the Chiefs winning just two games in 2012. And judging by the way the players are talking during their voluntary workouts, there won’t be any issues with the players moods.
LB Derrick Johnson made it clear there’s only one “R” word we should be using when talking about this year’s team.
“It’s definitely a reloading year; college is always for rebuilding,” Johnson told the Chiefs official site.
Besides “rebuild vs. reload”, Johnson sees another major difference between college and the NFL: the ease in which teams build chemistry.
“In the NFL, it’s different from college, where everybody is going to class together (and) everybody’s together. That’s what you have, but here in the NFL, people have their own lives. People are 30-years-old, people are 22-years old, people are married, people are unmarried, some have kids and some don’t, it’s one of those things that you have to work even harder to build that team camaraderie in the NFL.”
The defensive leader is saying all the right things in April and hopefully that rubs off to the rest of the team and carries over to training camp and beyond.
The Chiefs official site has plenty more from Johnson, including his thoughts on new quarterback Alex Smith and training camp.
by Ryan Jones on April 12th, 2013 at 12:00am
The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting free agent safety Sherrod Martin for a two-day visit, according to Aaron Wilson.
Martin arrived in town Thursday and will spend Friday with the team as well. He is looking to land with a a new team after spending his first four seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers.
The veteran is no stranger to Arrowhead Stadium, having ended his 2012 season there when he tore both his ACL and MCL.
Martin first entered the league as a second-round pick out of Troy in 2009 and had been incredibly durable. He appeared in 59 of 60 games before his knee injury, racking up 199 tackles and seven interceptions. The safety picked off three passes in two different seasons and posted a career-best 85 tackles in 2010.
There’s no telling how far along Martin’s rehab is, so even if he signs with the Chiefs he might not be a factor in Bob Sutton’s defense until the season starts. Not to mention the Kansas City secondary is all of a sudden pretty crowded and we haven’t seen how many draft picks/undrafted free agents will jump into the competition.
by Ryan Jones on April 11th, 2013 at 4:00am
In his latest NFL mock draft, ESPN’s Todd McShay not only leads with his projection for each team, but also takes a look at multiple scenarios for each pick. Yes, there’s a familiar name heading to the Kansas City Chiefs with the top pick, but also a couple of other options for new GM John Dorsey.
Scenario 1: Draft OT Luke Joeckel
Scenario 2: Draft OT Eric Fisher
Scenario 3: Trade out of the top spot
You can read McShay’s full Insider breakdown here, but these seem like the most likely scenarios for the Chiefs. There’s still grumblings about Star Lotulelei or Dion Jordan moving into the top spot, though a tackle seems to fit the best.
If I were making the pick, I’d stay at No. 1 and take Joeckel. If Dorsey and Andy Reid see it as more of a toss up then finding a trade partner should be on the top of their list. Being able to recoup the picks lost in the Alex Smith trade while still nabbing a guy at the top of your board would be huge for this franchise.
by Ryan Jones on April 10th, 2013 at 11:53am
The Kansas City Chiefs still haven’t tipped their hand about who they will take first overall in the NFL Draft later this month, but most expect it to be an offensive tackle.
Though the name you hear most associated with the Chiefs is Luke Joeckel, the latest mock draft from Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks sends the other top tackle to Kansas City.
Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan
After going with Texas A&M’s Luke Joeckel atop my first four mocks of the year, I’ve been swayed by the Eric Fisher-at-No. 1 movement. This is the time of year when you start to hear way too much about a player’s “upside,” but it would seem the more athletic Fisher has a bit of an edge in that department over Joeckel. I guess we’ll know who K.C. really likes if it starts early exclusive contract negotiations with one of them.
There’s no doubting the potential Fisher brings to the table, but I’d still rather have Joeckel for the Chiefs if they decide to take a tackle. He’s the better prospect now and I think will be in the long run, even if the big man from Central Michigan takes off as many expect him to.
A lot can — and will — happen in the next two weeks, though I’d be surprised if we saw Andy Reid and John Dorsey start working on a contract with Joeckel, Fisher or any other player. Getting a deal done isn’t nearly as important as it used to be and it would take a trade for the top pick off the table.
by Ryan Jones on April 10th, 2013 at 8:00am
It’s not uncommon for players in any sport to reconsider their retirement and return to the game they’ve loved all their life. Very simply, players play and it can be tough to move on. So it’s not a surprise to hear Ryan Lilja is receptive to returning to the Kansas City Chiefs, as the Kansas City Star has reported.
Other than Lilja still possibly having a desire to play, is there more to see here?
Remember, though he had never played the position before, Lilja stepped in admirably for Rodney Hudson at center after the second-year player broke a bone in his leg in Week 3 and landed on injured reserve.
Since Hudson went down, there has been little news about his status for this upcoming season. We know he’s attending the off season workouts, but not how much he’s participating.
Considering how he held his own at center while learning on the fly, Lilja could come in and provide a better insurance policy than a draft pick or a journeyman off the street.
And if there is any reason for head coach Andy Reid to think he needs a contingency plan, we can start worrying about Hudson’s recovery from the broken bone in his leg.
by Ryan Jones on April 10th, 2013 at 4:06am
The top two quarterbacks from the Kansas City Chiefs 2-14 season now both have found a new team. Nearly a month after Matt Cassel signed with the Minnesota Vikings, Brady Quinn landed with the Seattle Seahawks.
Quinn was signed to be Russell Wilson’s backup after the team also looked at Matt Leinart, Seneca Wallace and another former Chiefs signal caller, Tyler Thigpen.
Once the Seahawks shipped last year’s backup, Matt Flynn, to the Oakland Raiders, they were in need of a replacement. Considering Flynn attempted all of nine passes last season, there’s a good chance Quinn never sees the field in Seattle, even if he does hold onto the backup job.
Though he handled an impossible off-the-field situation with class during a tough season, Quinn was terrible between the lines. In 10 games, the quarterback completed just under 57 percent of his passes while tossing eight interceptions to just two touchdowns. He also was sacked 21 times.
by Ryan Jones on April 4th, 2013 at 11:03pm
The Kansas City Chiefs have been on the clock for months and it seems we are as close as possible to a consensus on who will come off the board first. At least that’s the case over at the World Wide Leader! Both of ESPN’s top draft gurus, Mel Kiper and Todd McShay feel it will be Texas A&M’s Luke Joeckel.
Kiper broke down the decision in his latest mock draft.
Placing the franchise tag on Branden Albert left the Chiefs with three options that factor into this pick. They could play Joeckel at right tackle in 2013 with the goal of moving him to the left side next year; they could start Joeckel on the left side immediately to reduce the adjustment pains he could experience in shifting next year and have Albert hold down right tackle; or they could continue to entertain trade offers for Albert and try to recoup some value they traded away in the deal for Alex Smith. In any event, given the way the board sets up, my belief is they’ll take the top tackle in the draft because it fills a current hole for 2013, and could fill a significant roster void in 2014. Given that their second-biggest need is an interior linebacker, they’ll go with a tackle here and deal with that later.
There had been a decent amount of bouncing around not only from the folks at ESPN, but really across the board. But once Kansas City decided to part ways with starting right tackle Eric Winston, all signs pointed to the big man from Texas A&M getting the call.
If Andy Reid and John Dorsey are determined to grab an offensive tackle first overall, the other option is Eric Fisher from Central Michigan. I think Joeckel is easily the choice over Fisher, but both can step in and get the job done from day one.
For what it’s worth, Kiper has the San Francisco 49ers selecting safety Matt Elam from Florida with the second round pick used to acquire Alex Smith.
