Chiefs veteran Mike Remmers, who has lined up at guard and tackle during training camp, knows a thing or two about versatility.
Throughout his previous nine seasons, he's been asked to play a variety of positions along the front five of the offensive line, and it's helped shape him to become the player he is today.
"I think that's been incredibly important in my NFL career, for sure, because I started off practice squad and at that point you're playing every position," Remmers said Monday. "Whatever they need, you're playing it.
"Early in my career, my main goal was just to be on the field, so you just got to be ready to be thrown in at any position."
The 6-foot-5, 308-pound Remmers used that approach to enjoy a successful career since entering the league in 2012 out of Oregon State as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos.
The 31-year-old has had stints with the Broncos, Buccaneers, Chargers, Vikings, Rams, Panthers and Giants and has proven reliable when called upon: He's appeared in 79 games with 78 starts, including 14 starts at right tackle with the Giants in 2019.
And with a mindset to prepare mentally for playing multiple positions, there's no doubt Remmers is on the right team now. The Chiefs covet interchangeable blockers, so it wasn't a big surprise when they brought in Remmers on a one-year deal during free agency. The Chiefs then doubled down shortly before the start of training camp by signing Kelechi Osemele, who can play both guard positions and tackle, in the wake of Laurent Duverney-Tardif opting out of the regular season.
"(General manager) Brett Veach and his staff, of course, always do a great job of bringing us quality football players, guys who are going to be competitive," Chiefs offensive line coach Andy Heck said. "The thing that I love about these two players is you have experience: They've played a lot of good football, and both of them love football."
This summer's training camp was different from what Remmers had grown accustomed to during his career. He'd usually have an idea, before the start of camp, where he would be asked to play. But the Chiefs made the most of Remmers' flexibility and asked him to line up at a variety of positions during camp practices.
"It's a different camp for me because I'm used to usually sticking at one spot," he said. "So I've been kind of going around."
On top of moving to different spots along the offensive line, he's had to learn a new playbook and scheme, along with the nuances that come with that and adjusting to a new coaching staff.
While he admits some of this has been challenging, there's nothing like drawing on first-hand knowledge to assist in the training camp acclimation process and overcome obstacles.
"I've got a lot of experience of playing multiple positions and starting games at four different positions," Remmers said. "So, that's been great just having some experience to fall back on."
Remmers projects to be the Chiefs' all-important "swing" offensive lineman. They seem set across their front five with center Austin Reiter, tackles Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher and perhaps Osemele and Andrew Wylie at the guard positions.
All that remains is the wait for the regular season. Remmers will continue drawing on his vast experience with former teams and the Chiefs' recently concluded camp to be ready whenever his number is called.
"I've been playing both left and right guard and tackle," he said. "I'm just trying to do what I possibly can to be ready for any different situation, because you never know what's going to happen during the season."
