The Chiefs are in an interesting situation with their roster.
There’s obviously a strong sense of urgency to win now, with Patrick Mahomes on his rookie contract. At the same time, Brett Veach wants to build this team up for long term success. One way teams can do both is by acquiring bridge players to allow their young players some time to develop.
These players are typically older ones who are closer to the end of their career than they are the beginning. They’re plug and play options who can bridge roster gaps while those young players get their feet under them in the NFL.
Here are four players who the Chiefs should consider to bridge various gaps on their roster while they wait for younger players to develop.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Raiders
I already wrote a bit on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie when news broke that he’d been reinstated and wants to play in 2019. He obviously has connections to the Chiefs coaching staff, and familiarity has been a big point of emphasis in assembling the new defensive staff.
DRC’s numbers took a dip in 2017 and 2018, but he was playing for bad teams in each of those seasons. Motivation seems to be a huge factor in this players performance at this point of his career. In the prior two seasons under Dave Merritt and Steve Spagnuolo, DRC had some crazy production. In 24 games he had 107 total tackles, nine interceptions, 34 passes defended, three forced fumbles, a sack, and a touchdown.
It took Charvarius Ward practically a full season to get up to speed and NFL ready. There’s no guarantee that any player the Chiefs draft will be ready to play immediately and they should prepare in the event they’re not. DRC would be the perfect bridge option, and he’s coming in with fresh legs after a half season of retirement.
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Eric Weddle S Ravens
The safety group for the Chiefs was decimated by injuries in 2018. Eric Berry’s mysterious heel injury, and Daniel Sorensen’s leg injury for instance. They also lost promising rookie Armani Watts to a core muscle injury. They need to get more reliable at that position, and many think they’ll look to the draft for that.
I hope the Chiefs don’t forget that you can find reliable players in free agency too. Take Eric Weddle for instance. He hasn’t missed a single game in the past three seasons. He’s played a full 16 game season 9-of-12 seasons in the league. You don’t find players more reliable and consistent than Weddle. At 33 years old, Weddle was part of the NFL’s top defensive unit and a Ravens team that won the AFC North. If he’s looking to a win a championship, the Chiefs should snatch him up and not look back.
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Cameron Wake DE Dolphins
Cameron Wake is like the Tom Brady of defenders. The guy has been the pinnacle of consistency throughout his career, and at 37 years old it doesn’t look like he’s ready to hang it up anytime soon. The last season that Wake had less that six sacks was his rookie season, and he’s had five seasons with double digit sack production during his career. He could probably keep playing until he was 50 years old if he wanted to.
The Dolphins seem ready to allow Wake test the waters of free agency. If the Chiefs somehow do move on from both Justin Houston and Dee Ford, they’d be smart to look for a bridge option like Wake while Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon develop. This player still has something left in the tank, and if you put him on a championship caliber team he could be one of the key pieces that leads the team to victory.
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Ryan Kalil C Panthers
Just because the Chiefs have needs on defense, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t look to improve the offensive side of the ball too. Ryan Kalil came in as PFF’s 16th ranked center for the 2019 season. That’s only three slots lower than Chiefs center Mitch Morse, who is scheduled to become a free agent this season.
I’m aware that Kalil has stated he’s retired, but if a championship caliber team comes calling, you never know the answer. If the Chiefs want to add a veteran option to the mix in the event of injury or to provide Austin Reiter with competition, they could probably get Kalil for less than Morse will fetch on the free agent market. It appears he wouldn’t be too much of a downgrade, and could potentially even be an upgrade if he can stay healthy. If Kalil starts, he can bridge the gap until Reiter or another player is ready to take over as a starter.
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