New Chiefs backup quarterback Chase Daniel said it was hard to leave New Orleans but that he's ready to compete for a starting job, even if Alex Smith is the clear-cut No. 1 in Kansas City. “I think that’s what makes quarterbacks, especially, competitive," he said. "Everyone trying to take the spot in front of them.”
He may play for just a handful of snaps, but Alex Smith’s first home game for the Chiefs will be against his former team, the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers will be one of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium opponents in the preseason schedule announced by the NFL on Thursday.
Draft analyst Mel Kiper has the Chiefs going with Luke Joeckel in his latest mock, but indicated in a conference call today he would be surprised if the Chiefs went with Eric Fisher.
The New England Sports Network quotes a former league scout as saying that the Chiefs are down to three possibilities with their number one pick in the April 25-27 NFL Draft.
The Chiefs today released backup offensive lineman Rich Ranglin. Ranglin joined the Chiefs last season but was on the practice squad for much of the season.
The Star’s Adam Teicher says don’t expect left tackle Branden Albert to rejoin the Chiefs any time soon. Offseason participation is voluntary until the June 4-6 mini-camp, and Albert said he won’t report until the Chiefs give him more than the one-year contract he signed recently.
Backup linebacker Andy Studebaker has been released by the Chiefs, who were scheduled to pay him $2.055 million this season.
Almost three months after Andy Reid took over as Chiefs head coach, he was able to hire Brad Childress as a senior offensive assistant. Childress, 56, was Reid’s offensive coordinator and/or quarterbacks coach for the Eagles from 1999 through 2005. He then left to become the head coach for the Vikings, where he had a 39-35 record and won two NFC Central championships.
The Chiefs signed linebacker Chad Kilgore, who played in high school at Excelsior Springs and in college at Northwest Missouri State.
Defensive lineman Ropati Pitoitua, who became a starter for the Chiefs last season after they lost Glenn Dorsey to injury, signed today as an unrestricted free agent with the Tennessee Titans.
Backup linebacker Edgar Jones, an unrestricted free agent, said on his Twitter account today that he has re-signed with the Chiefs. Jones, who played in college at Southeast Missouri State, signed with the Chiefs last summer after playing five seasons for the Baltimore Ravens. He played in all 16 games last season and was one of the Chiefs’ top players on special teams.
A group of Chiefs officials, including general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid, are headed to Texas A&M today for a private workout with offensive tackle Luke Joeckel.
The NFL confirmed the official seven-round selection order for the draft next month and that the Chiefs have eight picks, including four of the top 99. The Chiefs, thanks to the compensatory picks they were awarded this week, have extra choices in the third and sixth rounds.
The Chiefs have signed fullback Ryan D'Imperio. The 6-feet-3, 240-pound D’Imperio played in 12 games for the Minnesota Vikings in 2011. He spent the previous season on Minnesota’s practice squad.
Former Chiefs backup tight end Steve Maneri signed with the Chicago Bears today.
After re-signing Dwayne Bowe and acquiring Donnie Avery through free agency, the Chiefs appear to have their starting wide receivers. Between Dexter McCluster and Devon Wylie, the Chiefs seem to have their slot receivers. There doesn’t look to be much of a role for Jon Baldwin.
The Chiefs signed long snapper Thomas Gafford, who had been an unrestricted free agent.
The Chiefs were awarded draft choices at the end of the third and sixth rounds as the NFL handed out its compensatory picks for last year's activity involving unrestricted free agents.
The NFL’s free-agent signing period begins on Tuesday, and there have been some changes to the system this year. The Star's Adam Teicher explains it and lists the remaining potential Chiefs free agents, including QB Brady Quinn (pictured). A contact and negotiation period between teams and the agents for potential unrestricted free agents begins tonight at 11 p.m.
The numbers are in on the restructure of defensive end Tyson Jackson’s contract with the Chiefs. His 2013 salary dropped to $4.2 million, or more than $10 million less than the $14.72 million he was scheduled to make under his old contract. His salary cap figure also takes a corresponding drop of about $10 million, to about $7.2 million.
The Chiefs today said goodbye to Ray Farmer, their director of pro personnel since 2006. Farmer took the job as assistant general manager for the Cleveland Browns.
The Chiefs have their starting quarterback, or will have in a couple of weeks, once their trade for Alex Smith becomes official. But don’t think for a minute that GM John Dorsey (pictured) and the Chiefs are finished at that position for this year.
