Cornerback Keith Reaser may have suffered the Kansas City Chiefs’ first significant injury of the offseason.
According to coach Andy Reid, the initial belief is that Reaser suffered an Achilles tear. It’s an injury that, if confirmed, would almost certainly knock him out for the entire season. This could effectively end his career with the Chiefs if they don’t decide to bring him back for next year.
Reaser wasn’t slated to be a starter, but the first three days of training camp showed us he was in the plans in a backup capacity. He’s also part of a position group that already appears to be dangerously thin, so the potential for a long-term absence is concerning.
So where do the Chiefs go from here? They have a few options to go about replacing Reaser if he’s truly lost to an Achilles injury.
An opportunity arises
The thing about Reaser was that he was versatile. He was capable of playing inside and outside, and he was an asset on special teams. That’s why he was looking like the No. 5 CB right out of the gate.
There are two players who really have an opportunity to step up in Reaser’s absence, the first being second-year CB Tremon Smith. Smith had one start at corner in 2018 against the Seattle Seahawks, and it wasn’t a good showing. He did prove to be a stud kick returner last season, finishing the season with the third-most kick return yardage in the NFL.
So far Smith has seen work with the second team at corner on both the perimeter and the inside. The ideal situation here would be to see Smith make a second-year leap, now he’ll have even more opportunity to further showcase his talents.
The second player I’m looking at is undrafted CB Mark Fields. He’s had a few standout plays throughout training camp and he’s been a fan favorite since joining the team. He has an opportunity to step up and make his presence felt with the absence of Reaser because he’s also a guy that has multi-tool versatility. He can play outside corner, inside corner and be a multi-phase member of the special teams unit. Look for him to improve and stand out more as training camp progresses.
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Could free agency be an option?
Free agency is not where you want to be looking for help right now, especially when it comes to the cornerback position. Short of a surprise cut, the Chiefs likely won’t find any contributors left on the free agent market. There are a few intriguing options available who could help create competition, but they’re not exactly the guys that you want starting significant minutes for this football team. A few that the Chiefs could give a call to are:
- Former Jets CB Morris Claiborne
- Former Giants CB Tony Lippett
- Former Saints CB Delvin Breaux
- Former Dolphins CB Jamar Summers
Roster cuts could the time when the Chiefs look to add a cornerback. They could also flip a late-round pick, which is what they did in 2018 with Charvarius Ward.
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Is a trade on the table?
The end of August has been a sweet spot for trades when it comes to general manager Brett Veach. He’s acquired players around then in almost all of his seasons as general manager in Kansas City. We know that he has his ear to the ground on any potential trades, because just recently he was in talks with the Packers for Mike Daniels.
So is a trade an option for Kansas City right now? I think one could be on the horizon. Cornerback is a good guess with the recent attrition. Also there was Veach’s desire to draft cornerback, which was recently revealed in the Chiefs documentary series, “The Franchise.” They’ve got a boatload of salary cap space, so they could even fit a veteran contract on the roster.
Here are some guys that I’d be looking at if I were Veach:
- Redskins CB Josh Norman
- Giants CB Janoris Jenkins
- Vikings CB Trae Waynes
- Patriots CB Jonathan Jones
There are definitely talented options out there that could become available via trade, not just guys that would be worthy of a roster spot, but guys who could get in the mix as starters for the Chiefs. The only question is: Which player would the Chiefs be interested in?
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