Following Super Bowl LV’s blocking debacle, the Chiefs moved aggressively to bolster their offensive line. In addition to trading for Orlando Brown Jr. to play left tackle, Kansas City signed Joe Thuney to play left guard, added Kyle Long out of retirement and drafted Trey Smith in the sixth round. Longtime Chiefs right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is also back after his opt-out season, and the team placed an original-round RFA tender on Andrew Wylie and re-signed veteran Mike Remmers.
Though Wylie finished the season as an overmatched right tackle against Shaquil Barrett, he has started 35 games for the Chiefs over the past three years. But the Chiefs’ new guard glut now has the former UDFA on the roster bubble, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. Wylie’s best hope is a backup gig, with Teicher adding that it is Smith who is battling Duvernay-Tardif for the Chiefs’ starting right guard job. A blood clot issue hampered Smith at Tennessee, but he bounced back to earn first-team All-SEC acclaim at guard in 2019 and ’20. Smith’s past medical issue damaged his draft stock, but the Chiefs appear to be considering starting two rookies — Smith and second-round center Creed Humphrey — this season.
Here is the latest from around the AFC:
- An in-season extension for Courtland Sutton could be on the Broncos‘ radar. The former second-round pick is going into a contract year but coming off an ACL tear. Sutton’s performance level in September and October may determine how the Broncos address his future, with the Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran writing that a start in which Sutton moves past his injury issue could move the team to extend him. New GM George Paton identified Sutton as a core player the team wants to keep around long-term. The Broncos did in-season extensions for Chris Harris, Derek Wolfe, Darian Stewart and Garett Bolles (in 2020) during John Elway‘s regime, but it remains to be seen how Paton’s negotiating timetable will look.
- Former first-round pick Taven Bryan has dropped onto the Jaguars‘ roster bubble, according to ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco, who adds that the ex-Florida Gators defensive tackle’s struggles with the mental aspects of the NFL game have made him a cut candidate. The Jags benched Bryan for UDFA Doug Costin last year and signed Malcom Brown this offseason. Bryan will be used at defensive end at times in Jacksonville’s new 3-4 defense, DiRocco adds. The Jags did not pick up his fifth-year option in May.
- N’Keal Harry surfaced in trade rumors this offseason, and the Patriots may be ready to cut the cord. The 2019 first-round pick is behind additions Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne on New England’s depth chart, with ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss adding that Jakobi Meyers is playing ahead of Harry as well. Harry may be battling return man Gunner Olszewski and ex-UDFA Isaiah Zuber for a backup role. It would cost the Pats $4.8MM in dead money if they waived Harry, however. That may well give the inconsistent Arizona State product another chance — if the Pats do not end up trading him.
It’s hard to blame the Chiefs’ line as a group for their awful blocking fiasco when both of their quality tackles missed the game, but KC overhauled the line anyway. It just seems odd to me, especially considering that the line played well up until it lost both starting tackles. In any case, I do get why they were cut, given the types of injuries they suffered. Thing is, I would not say that the Chiefs’ linemen played poorly as a whole last season. It was just when it was most important, unfortunately for them, that they did.
Denver will be much, much better offensively with Sutton, and his size/speed combo make him a perfect choice for their number 1 receiving role. Still, I figured that they might go cheap and say that their host of promising young pass catchers would make Sutton expendable after an injured season. I think retaining him is the smart choice, given his skillset and experience. I don’t think Lock will ever be really great, but I do expect him to improve (at least statiscally) this year due to the better help around him and more time practicing the offense. Sutton is the biggest reason why roster-wise. The receivers looked good to me last year, but Sutton is the only one with real experience and has a great skillset. Lock may not be a great QB, but he is a hard worker and committed teammate. He should do better this year for those reasons, and I think Denver would be smart to offer an extension now before Sutton puts up actual statistics this season to drive up his value.
Bill should be no longer allowed to draft WR he wouldn’t know a good if it bit him in the azz but really you could say that about any of his last 5-6 drafts – this yr on paper this yrs looks great but only time will tell
To be fair to Belichick’s scouting skills, he’s had plenty of luck getting them in free agency or trades.
Thats one of Matt Patricia’s jobs now with the scouts. Confident now?
Players recover differently from ACL injuries, as getting over the mental hurdle is sometimes harder than repairing the physical damage. Adrian Peterson had no trouble putting it behind him, but others have taken a full year of football before again being able to make instinctual football moves. Sutton was certainly the Broncos’ best receiver before the injury, but it would be foolish for them to not “try it before you buy it” after this kind of injury.