Chiefs to trade for Saints guard Ben Grubbs

The Chiefs appear to be serious about improving the interior of their offensive line.

A source confirmed to The Star that the team has traded a 2015 fifth-round pick to New Orleans for guard Ben Grubbs, and in a corresponding move, the Chiefs are releasing receiver Dwayne Bowe.

The Saints have since announced the move on Twitter.

Grubbs, 31, is a two-time Pro Bowler (in 2011 and 2013) who is listed at 6 feet 3 and 310 pounds and has started all 16 games for the Saints the last three seasons.

Grubbs, who is in the fourth year of a five-year, $36 million contract he signed with the Saints, was set to have a cap hit of $9.6 million this year with New Orleans, but according to OverTheCap.com, that number should be closer to $6.6 million with the Chiefs.

The release of Bowe will create $5 million in cap space immediately, but also stick the Chiefs with $9 million in dead money this season.

Grubbs posted a Pro Football Focus grade of negative-0.2 in 2014, which ranked 35th out of 78 qualifying guards. That grade was higher than any of the Chiefs’ starting three guards — Mike McGlynn, Jeff Linkenbach and Zach Fulton — by a significant margin.

Grubbs, however, was much better in 2013, the last time he made the Pro Bowl. That year, he posted a grade of 14.7, which ranked 11th out of 81 qualifying guards.

Chiefs general manager John Dorsey has said in the past that he is “stingy” with his draft picks, but the Chiefs expected to gain as many as four additional compensatory picks for their free agent losses last year, which positions them to have as many as 10, total, even with the trade.

Grubbs and free-agent guard Paul Fanaika, a six-year veteran who is expected to sign a multiyear contract with the Chiefs, could compete with returnees such as Jeff Allen and Zach Fulton for playing time at guard.

Allen missed most of last season with an elbow injury, while Fulton — a sixth-round pick last year — started all 16 games at right guard and posted a Pro Football Focus grade of negative-14.6, which ranked 64th out of 78 qualifying guards.

This story was originally published March 12, 2015 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Chiefs to trade for Saints guard Ben Grubbs."