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The Chiefs have re-signed 30-year old DT Amon Gordon to a 2-year deal. Gordon played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 23 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 pass defensed. Gordon has now played in 33 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 56 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed. This was a good move for the Chiefs as Gordon looks like a late bloomer.
The Chiefs have released 31-year old LB DeMorrio Williams. Williams played in 12 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 18 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss. He played in 60 games in his four years with the Chiefs and he had 216 tackles, 1 sack, 9 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 8 passes defensed. Other LBs have passed Williams on the depth chart, so the Chiefs saved money by cutting Williams loose and it was the right thing to do.
The Chiefs have used their franchise tag on 27-year old WR Dwayne Bowe. Bowe played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he caught 81 passes for 1,159 yards (14.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs. He has now played in 75 games in his first five years with the Chiefs and he has caught 356 passes for 4,927 yards (13.8 avg) with 36 TD grabs. It was smart of the Chiefs to franchise tag Dwayne Bowe as it will give them another year to try to hammer out a long term deal with him.
The Chiefs have signed 29-year old CB Jacques Reeves. Reeves last played in the NFL back in 2009 with the Houston Texans. He has played in 88 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 189 tackles, 45 passes defensed, 6 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 1 tackle for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Reeves is going to be a longshot to make the Chiefs’ roster in 2012 as he will likely be a tad rusty.
The Kansas City Chiefs have signed 28-year old CB Stanford Routt to a 3-year, $20 million dollar contract. Routt played in all 16 games for the Raiders last year and he had 49 tackles, 4 interceptions, 15 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss. He has now played in 110 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 237 tackles, 10 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 51 passes defensed, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 2 sacks. This was an unexpected bombshell as Routt is one of the better corners in the NFL.
The Chiefs have signed 25-year old safety Kyle McCarthy. McCarthy played in 4 games for the Denver Broncos last year and he had 3 tackles. He has now played in 12 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 7 tackles. McCarthy will try to make the Chiefs’ roster next season primarily for special teams, but he will also compete to give the Chiefs’ some depth at safety.
The Chiefs have re-signed 26-year old TE Jake O’Connell to a 1-year deal. O’Connell played in 8 games (4 starts) for the Chiefs last year and he caught 7 passes for 52 yards (7.4 avg). He has now played in 27 games in his first three years with the Chiefs and he has caught 12 passes for 90 yards (7.5 avg). This was a good move for the Chiefs as O’Connell is a decent backup TE.
The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t get a lot of production out of their rookie class in 2011. But they have a nice upside. Here is a look at how the Chiefs’ rookies did in 2011:
22-year old WR Jonathan Baldwin was the Chiefs’ first round pick in 2011. He got off to a late start to his 2011 season after losing a locker-room fight with veteran RB Thomas Jones which resulted in Baldwin having a broken thumb. This got him into head coach Todd Haley’s Dog House right away. Baldwin played in 11 games for the Chiefs last year and he caught 21 passes for 254 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD grab. Despite his rough rookie season, Baldwin has a nice upside.
22-year old center Rodney Hudson was the Chiefs’ 2nd round pick last April. Hudson played in 16 games (1 start) for the Chiefs last year. He projects to be a starter for the Chiefs in the very near future.
23-year old OLB Justin Houston was a 3rd round pick last April. Houston played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 56 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 4 passes defensed. Houston has a huge upside as he got better with every single game that he played in 2011.
22-year old DE Allen Bailey was also a 3rd round pick last April. He played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 10 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed. Bailey will likely see increased P.T. as his career goes on.
24-year old CB Jalil Brown was picked in the 4th round last April. He played in 14 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 8 tackles. Brown will likely start to get more P.T. next year for the Chiefs.
24-year old QB Ricky Stanzi was a 5th round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Stanzi could be the QB of the future down the road for the Chiefs, but you have to wonder why they didn’t give him a chance instead of Tyler Palko.
24-year old OLB Gabe Miller was a 5th round pick of the Chiefs. He spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.
24-year old NT Jerrell Powe was picked in the 6th round by the Chiefs. Powe played in 1 game for the Chiefs last year but he didn’t have any tackles.
22-year old fullback Shane Bannon was a 7th round pick of the Chiefs. He was cut before the season even began.
GRADE FOR 2011: C+
GRADE FOR THE FUTURE: B+
The Kansas City Chiefs have stripped the interim label from 64-year old Romeo Crennel’s job description and they have signed him to a new three year deal to serve as the head coach. The Chiefs were 2-1 under Romeo Crennel this year after he took over from Todd Haley. The Chiefs only scored 39 points in Crennel’s three games in charge, but they only gave up 33 points. Romeo Crennel is now 26-41 (38.8%) in his first five years as an NFL head coach. Maybe Crennel will be better in his second time around as a NFL head coach, as Bill Belichick excelled after he left the Browns.
29-year old Matt Cassel missed a huge chunk of the season due to injury, but he didn’t play too well before he was injured. Cassel played in 9 games (all starts) for the Chiefs last year and he completed 160 of 269 passes (59.5%) for 1,713 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 INTs (76.6 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 25 times for 99 yards (4.0 ypc) last season. Cassel was 4-5 (44.4%) as the Chiefs’ starting QB this year. Cassel has now played in 69 games (54 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 1,042 of 1,767 passes (59%) for 11,699 yards with 76 TD passes and 45 INTs (82.5 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 193 times for 711 yards (3.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his NFL career. Cassel has a 28-26 (51.9%) record as a starting QB during the regular season so far in his career. The Chiefs are likely going to give Cassel some competition for his starting gig next training camp.
28-year old Tyler Palko was pathetic for the Chiefs last year. He played in 6 games (4 starts) for the Chiefs last year and he completed 80 of 134 passes (59.7%) for 796 yards with 2 TD passes and 7 INTs (59.8 QB Rating). Palko also carried the ball 5 times for 15 yards (3.0 ypc) last year for the Chiefs. Palko was 1-3 (25%) as the starting QB for the Chiefs this year. He has now played in 8 games (4 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 84 of 140 passes (60%) for 831 yards with 2 TD passes and 7 INTs (60.7 QB Rating). Palko has also carried the ball 7 times for 20 yards (2.9 ypc) so far in his NFL career.
29-year old Kyle Orton led the Chiefs to a 2-1 record in three late season starts. He played in 9 games (8 starts) overall last year for the Broncos & Chiefs and he completed 150 of 252 passes (59.5%) for 1,758 yards with 9 TD passes and 9 INTs (77.8 QB Rating). Orton also carried the ball 11 times for 13 yards (1.2 ypc) last year. Orton was 3-5 (37.5%) overall as a starting QB last year. Orton has now played in 71 games (69 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,284 of 2,204 (58.3%) passes for 14,532 yards with 80 TD passes and 57 INTs (79.4 QB Rating). He has also carried the ball 110 times for 274 yards (2.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career. Orton is now 35-34 (50.7%) as a starting QB during the regular season in the NFL.