Kansas City Chiefs lose linebacker Wilson to Jaguars. What’s next for the position?
At the onset of the offseason, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach identified linebacker as one of the spots in which he’d like to improve.
But first, a former starter is exiting.
The Jaguars on Friday signed Damien Wilson, who started 29 games in his two seasons in Kansas City. He also started all six playoff games over the past two years and had a fourth-down goal line stand in this year’s Super Bowl.
Wilson, who turns 28 next month, tallied 154 tackles, 98 of them solo, across two years. He added 1 1/2 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles. His playing time dwindled slightly in 2020, playing 49% of the defensive snaps after appearing on the field for 64% of them one year earlier.
With his departure, the Chiefs are relatively thin at linebacker, not yet having made an addition to the group.
But that’s not likely to remain the case. While the Chiefs had other more pressing needs this offseason — namely the offensive line, which they’ve addressed in part — they have sought more production at linebacker.
“I think depth at the linebacker position and defensive line will be something that we’ll try to address, either through free agency and/or the draft,” Veach said in early March.
Starter Anthony Hitchens returns as the leader of the group, and the Chiefs expect a jump from second-year pro Willie Gay, last year’s second-round draft pick. They also brought back Ben Niemann on a one-year contract.
But they want to make an addition. The draft looms later this month, and in his first mock draft, The Star’s Herbie Teope has the Chiefs selecting Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton in the second round.
Through two weeks of free agency, here’s where the Chiefs stand:
PLAYERS SIGNED
- G Joe Thuney (from Patriots)
- OL Kyle Long (came out of retirement)
- TE Blake Bell (from Cowboys)
- DT Jarran Reed (formerly with Seahawks)
- C Austin Blythe (from Rams)
- FB Michael Burton (from Saints)
- DE Taco Charlton
- RB Elijah McGuire
- OL Mike Remmers
- S Daniel Sorensen
- RB Darrel Williams
RFA/ERFA PLAYERS TENDERED
- TE Nick Keizer
- LB Ben Niemann
- WR Byron Pringle
- OL Andrew Wylie
- CB Charvarius Ward
PLAYERS LOST
- DE Tanoh Kpassagnon (Saints)
- WR Sammy Watkins (Ravens)
- RB Damien Williams (Bears)
LB Damien Wilson (Jaguars)
CURRENT UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
- RB Le’Veon Bell
- CB Bashaud Breeland
- CB Alex Brown (not tendered as ERFA)
- LT Eric Fisher
- CB Antonio Hamilton
- C Daniel Kilgore
- DE Alex Okafor
- G Kelechi Osemele
- DL Mike Pennel
- C Austin Reiter
- TE Ricky Seals-Jones
- RT Mitchell Schwartz
- FB Anthony Sherman (announced retirement)
- G Stefen Wisniewski
- TE Deon Yelder (not tendered as RFA)