The most likely scenario for the Kansas City Chiefs is that they’ll go with in-house options to replace starting RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who elected to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season. There still exists a slight possibility that the Chiefs could look outside the organization for help in terms of immediate impact or depth. There are a handful of interior offensive linemen available that make varying degrees of sense in Kansas City.
Larry Warford
Warford is probably considered the cream of the crop of free-agent guards on the market right now. The 29-year-old veteran also might be the most expensive guard on the market because as of May he was looking for a contract worth up to $7 million per year in average salary. It’s not clear if he’d take a discount to join the defending Super Bowl champions, but that number would likely price out the Chiefs.
Warford is reliable, only missing two games in the last two seasons. He only allowed two sacks during the 2019 season and earned a 73.1 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus. His fit with the Chiefs is a debatable topic as he’s not the most mobile and athletic guard, but he’s physical and a tone-setter on the offensive line. There are few teams in the NFL that couldn’t use that type of player on their team.
Ronald Leary
There are few people out there who are more knowledgeable on offensive line play than Duke Manyweather. The choice he’d make for the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency is former Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos OG Ron Leary.
Leary started 12 games for the Broncos at right guard last season, allowing one sack and finishing with a 58.4 overall grade per Pro Football Focus. Injuries have obviously been the biggest concern for Leary as he hasn’t played a full season since 2013. In 2017 and 2018, Leary finished the season on injured reserve in Denver with a back injury and torn Achilles respectively. Leary did come out and say in March that he currently feels healthier than he has in a couple of years.
Some of Leary’s best years in the league was in a predominantly zone-blocking scheme, so from a schematic standpoint, he’s certainly a fit. We’ll see if Kansas City gives him a call in the coming weeks.
Josh Kline
An undrafted free agent signing by the New England Patriots in 2013, Kline most recently played with the Minnesota Vikings. This offseason, as part of a salary-cap crunch, the Vikings released Kline. It was a decision that many fans didn’t agree with as he played well for the team.
In the 2019 season, Pro Football Focus rated Kline with a 64.7 overall grade. That’s better than the 57.2 overall grade that Laurent Duvernay-Tardif earned in the 2019 season with the Super Bowl champions. That means that Kline could potentially be an upgrade over Duvernay-Tardif in 2020.
As of April 30, Kline was in “no rush” to make a decision in free agency. With training camp starting now and the NFL’s procedures for health, safety and finances in place, it’d seem it’s time for Kline to make a decision.
Parker Ehinger
Hello, old friend.
The Chiefs drafted Ehinger in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he actually started four games at left guard for Kansas City before tearing his ACL and MCL, which ended his season. In 2017, he didn’t regain a starting position but would start at right guard in Patrick Mahomes’ debut during Week 17. He certainly showed some promise there.
The Chiefs traded Ehinger to the Cowboys in 2018 and received starting CB Charvarius Ward in return. It’d be a nice full-circle moment to see Ehinger return to Kansas City, even if it’s simply to act as depth during training camp.
