The Kansas City Chiefs recently agreed to terms with veteran offensive lineman Mike Remmers on a one-year deal. Kansas City will be the eighth stop in the NFL for the 30-year-old offensive lineman. Here’s a look at three things the Chiefs Kingdom should know about their newest player:
Remmers has a chip on his shoulder
Remmers has had to earn his keep every step of the way in his career and it has given him a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He was a walk-on at Oregon State after earning no scholarship offers. At Oregon State, he didn’t land a starting job right away. It wasn’t until another player went down with an injury that Remmers was able to prove himself with the Beavers.
Remmers was an entrant into the 2012 NFL draft, but went unselected and had to prove his worth as an undrafted free agent. The Denver Broncos signed him in 2012 but he didn’t make it beyond 53-man roster cuts. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added him to their practice squad, but he didn’t last long there either. After his release from Tampa, he signed a contract with the then-San Diego Chargers. He played in just one game before he was released and claimed on waivers by the Minnesota Vikings. He was cut from the Vikings and picked up by the St. Louis Rams, but he only lasted a few weeks there. Finally, Remmers landed with the Carolina Panthers, where he would go on to start 37 games.
His underdog mentality should fit in nicely with the rest of the Kansas City roster.
He has played every position except center
One thing the Kansas City Chiefs love in their offensive linemen is versatility. You can only have so many players active on Sunday, so the more you can do, the more valuable you are to a team. Remmers has played all over the offensive line during his career. Our friends over at PFF detailed his versatility in a tweet.
In 5,666 career snaps spanning eight seasons, Remmers has played every offensive line position besides center. While most of his experience has come at right tackle and right guard, Remmers has nearly 1,000 snaps at left tackle and nearly 150 snaps at left guard. That veteran experience should prove useful for the Chiefs as they look to replace both Stefen Wisniewski and Cam Erving.
He has a score to settle with Broncos OLB Von Miller
Remmers has Super Bowl experience as the starting right tackle for the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good experience for Remmers. He struggled to contain Denver Broncos star pass rusher, Von Miller, throughout the game.
He surrendered multiple sacks and pressures to Miller, who was named the MVP of the game for his dominant performance. That game remains one of Remmers’ biggest regrets, but also one of the biggest motivators in his career.
“It’s unfortunate,” Remmers told the Charlotte Observer. “I’ll be kicking myself the rest of my life about that game. But it’s behind me, and there’s nothing I can do about it now except to learn and grow from it.
“I think that’s exactly what I’ve done. I’m going to continue to grow from this experience.”
He has shown growth since that moment in his career, but how will he fare if he has to face Miller again in Kansas City? He only played Miller once in the following season. If Remmers ends up playing at all for Kansas City during the 2020 season, he could end up facing Miller twice during the course of the season.
