Chiefs cut Amerson, add more secondary help at roster cut deadline

Entering the 2018 season, Brett Veach knew he needed glue.

Searching for a veteran cornerback to fuse the young position group that returned just one starter, the Chiefs general manager brought in veteran David Amerson, 31, in February on a one-year, $2.25 million ($500,000 guaranteed) contract. With a limited budget and a skyrocketing market for cornerbacks in free agency, offering a deal to Amerson seemed like the best option.

If it worked out, great. If not, the Chiefs weren’t taking a major financial risk.

On the day when roster cuts were finalized, it turned out to be the latter. After an inconsistent preseason, Amerson was released by the Chiefs.

“He’s had some good tape throughout the years, but he’s also had some tape that was not so good,” Veach said Saturday afternoon. “So what you do is, you bring him in and you make an incentive-based deal knowing that if you kick the tires and you hit it on this guy, you have a veteran guy that kind of comes in the room and adds some depth and some quality play.

“You have some younger guys that have flashed, and maybe passed him now.”

Amerson’s release was just one part of the flurry of movement made by the Chiefs at the roster cut deadline to revamp the secondary after an inconsistent showing in the preseason. After the team’s free agency signings and draft picks, Veach said, finding players in August was the best strategy for rebuilding the holes left in the secondary.

“We’re always going to look to get better,” Veach said. “We’re always going to keep our eyes open. I think that we surveyed the landscape in free agency and like I said, there’s only so many moves you can make in free agency. We decided to invest in guys that we thought were playmakers in Sammy Watkins and Anthony Hitchens. Some of the corners weren’t available or they didn’t fit what we do or it just wasn’t the right deal there. In the draft, you’ve just got to stay disciplined, and build from the inside out is one of the things we’ll always do.”

Amerson, who had two preseason starts and played significant time after Steven Nelson’s concussion in the second game, struggled in man-to-man coverage, routinely getting beat by opposing offenses. He drew the ire of fans on social media and was challenged by his coaches afterward.

In the end, Veach found his veteran glue elsewhere, this time in the form of Orlando Scandrick.

The former Cowboy joined the team two weeks ago and immediately started working with the first string defense. His ability to play on the inside and outside made him an attractive prospect, and he brought the leadership to the young group that Veach sought.

“With Orlando, we thought, we still need that veteran sandwiching in between Kendall (Fuller) and Stevie,” Veach said. “You have Tremon (Smith) and you have another young corner now, but you still need that veteran. But this veteran actually gives us inside and outside flexibility, and so that was kind of the thinking.”

Releasing Amerson was just one of the significant moves on the defense made by Veach and the Chiefs in the last three days. In an effort to bolster the secondary, the Chiefs traded lineman Parker Ehinger to the Cowboys for cornerback Chavarius Ward on Thursday night. A day later, they added safety Jordan Lucas from Miami for an undisclosed draft pick.

Both guys offered the youth and versatility that fit the team’s needs.

“(Ward) was almost like their Tremon Smith where they had a young corner that they liked,” Veach said. “I think this kid is going to come in here, and he’ll be in a great room with Stevie and Kendall and Orlando and learn from them. When you’re rounding out the bottom of the roster, he’ll be able to play teams and cover kicks, cover punts. He’s long, he’s athletic. Those guys are hard to find.”

As for Lucas, his experience playing cornerback in college made him a good fit.

“With our scheme, we ask our safety to do a ton,” Veach said. “Obviously we’re going to play a lot of man coverage. So I think we’re always going to be looking for safeties who kind of have that corner background and have that speed and athleticism and matchup and play on the back end.”

But the secondary additions didn’t stop there. According to a league source, the Chiefs are also adding free safety Ron Parker, who played with the organization from 2013-17. The Chiefs saved $5 million in cap space by releasing the 31-year-old in March. He eventually signed with the Falcons but was released Friday.

Adding Parker back to the roster gives another shot of veteran talent to a group that’s been depleted by injury and offseason moves. He started 63 games for the Chiefs in the last five seasons and recorded 317 combined tackles. His presence will be especially important with safety Daniel Sorensen’s leg injury and Eric Berry’s heel soreness. Sorensen hasn’t been placed on injured reserve, and Veach expects him to return by Week 8.

Brooke Pryor

Brooke Pryor covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.

This story was originally published September 1, 2018 at 7:37 PM.