Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill Present For Workouts
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill was in attendance for the start of the Chiefs’ offseason workout program on Monday, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Hill’s status for the 2019 is in jeopardy, but the wide receiver appears to be proceeding as though he’ll be cleared to play. 
Police are investigating claims of child abuse at Hill’s home and there’s a possibility that the wide receiver will face NFL discipline in connection with the incidents. However, the league is not expected to weigh in until child protective services concludes their investigation, which could mean that Hill’s fate will be in limbo for a while as authorities sift through the accusations.
Hill’s three-year old son is said to have suffered injuries, including a broken arm, at Hill’s home. Authorities are looking into Hill’s involvement in that incident, plus another where officers were called to Hill’s home to investigate a different incident of “child abuse or neglect.”
The accusations are troubling, particularly in light of Hill’s pre-NFL track record. If there is concrete evidence against Hill, it’s hard to imagine him taking the field for Week 1.
In 2017, Hill’s second NFL season, he amassed nearly 1,200 receiving yards with seven touchdowns. Then, last year, he set new career highs with 87 catches for 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns, cementing himself as one of the very best wide receivers in the game.
Earl Thomas Committed To Chiefs Deal Prior To Ravens Offer
Well known to have pursued Earl Thomas, the Chiefs were incredibly close to having one of the highest-profile safety tandems in recent NFL history.
Thomas committed to sign with the Chiefs the night before he agreed to terms with the Ravens, the new Baltimore defender said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Podcast this week (video link). Thomas provided details on what was a one-year Kansas City offer.
“I had committed there on a one-year deal worth like $12MM,” Thomas said, “and the next morning I woke up, my agents called me and told me I had a better offer with the Ravens, so I definitely took that offer real quick.”
Having recently seen money become available after C.J. Mosley accepted a monster Jets offer, the Ravens swooped in with a four-year, $55MM Thomas proposal. Thomas said he was on the phone with Andy Reid the night before he agreed to the Ravens’ terms and indicated his family was packing up for a flight to Missouri. While more low-key, with no agreement having been widely reported, Thomas’ free agency appears to have unfolded in a fairly similar fashion as Anthony Barr‘s.
“The Chiefs actually were about to send me a private jet and me and the family were packing up, getting ready to go, get on the jet, go to Kansas City, and I woke up the next morning and my agents told me that Baltimore really wanted me and they offered me a megadeal, and I took that,” Thomas said.
The Chiefs opened free agency by authorizing a $14MM-AAV deal for Tyrann Mathieu. They were clearly quite close to pairing him with Thomas. Eric Berry was still on Kansas City’s roster at that point, but the team released its three-time All-Pro safety hours after the Ravens pried Thomas away. Before going down with a season-ending injury, Thomas was rumored as a Chiefs trade target as well. It is not known if Thomas gave the Chiefs a chance to match the Ravens’ offer, though they certainly could have given that the subsequent Ravens agreement occurred before the new league year began.
Thomas added that the Cowboys, who offered a second-round pick for him last year, did not seriously pursue him in free agency. The Cowboys did not come forward with the kind of money the Ravens or Chiefs did, per Thomas.
Kansas City has made some major changes to its defense, cutting Berry and Justin Houston and trading Dee Ford. Lower-profile defensive ends Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah have since signed, joining Mathieu, Damien Wilson and Bashaud Breeland as notable K.C. offseason defensive additions. But a Chiefs team that ranked 31st against the pass (though 12th in pass-defense DVOA) still could use some help in the secondary.
Chiefs To Sign Jeremiah Attaochu
The Chiefs will add another player to their edge rush mix, bringing in former Chargers and Jets pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Attaochu joins Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah as new defensive ends in Kansas City’s post-Justin Houston/Dee Ford era. While Attaochu did have some success getting to quarterbacks in San Diego, he has not lived up to his second-round billing.
Registering six sacks for the 2015 Chargers, Attaochu has notched just four since. He collected two with the Jets, before his season ended in mid-December due to injury. Injuries also limited the Georgia Tech product to just four games in 2017.
Just more than a year ago, Attaochu caught on with the 49ers via one-year deal with $2.5MM guaranteed. Attaochu’s Chiefs contract likely does not include that much guaranteed, considering the 49ers cut the edge defender after their preseason slate.
The Chiefs are transitioning from their 3-4 look, which they used for 11 seasons, to Steve Spagnuolo‘s 4-3 defense. Its edge rush figures to be further augmented in the upcoming draft, when the Chiefs hold four picks in the first three rounds. But Attaochu, 26, stands to likely supply depth for the new-look edge corps — one that already houses recent second-round picks Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon.
Jaguars Sign OL Leonard Wester
The Jaguars have signed free agent offensive lineman Leonard Wester, the club announced today.
Wester spent the past three seasons with the Buccaneers before being non-tendered as a restricted free agent, and he’ll reunite with former Tampa Bay offensive line coach George Warhop, who now holds the same title in Jacksonville. While the Jaguars are set at left tackle with Cam Robinson, the club has a wide open slot on the right side following the release of Jermey Parnell, so Wester could compete for a starting job.
Wester, 26, went undrafted out of Missouri Western State in 2016. He’s appeared in 27 NFL games (all with the Buccaneers), but hasn’t been asked to play much of a significant role, as he’s made only one start during his career. In 2018, Wester played 116 offensive snaps, which marked a career-high, but Pro Football Focus assigned him a poor grade of 46.6 for his performance.
Before signing with the Jaguars, Wester also worked out for the Lions, Chiefs, and Falcons, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter links).
First Two AAF Players Sign NFL Deals
That didn’t take long. Just a few hours after the AAF announced it would allow players to start signing NFL contracts effective immediately, two players have already inked deals. 
The Chiefs are signing cornerback Keith Reaser, while the Panthers have added receiver Rashad Ross, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). In a separate tweet, Schefter notes that Reaser is getting $100K upfront guaranteed in the form of various bonuses. That’s a significant chunk of change, and indicates Kansas City likely had competition for Reaser’s services.
Reaser comes from the Orlando Apollos, the team coached by Steve Spurrier that had the best regular season record before the AAF suspended operations. Ross comes from the Arizona Hotshots, and was one of the best players in the league before it shut down. He had multiple huge games, and was dominating AAF defenses.
Reaser spent parts of the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Chiefs, so there’s some familiarity there. He was originally drafted by the 49ers in the fifth round back in 2014. He spent most of the 2017 season on the practice squad, and was released with an injury settlement early last season. Ross was a 2013 undrafted free agent, who received his most run with the Redskins back in 2015 when he returned kicks and caught eight passes for 184 yards. The Arizona State product was with the Cardinals for part of last offseason, but hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since 2016.
The two are likely the first of many who will sign NFL contracts in the coming days and weeks. While the league was ultimately unsuccessful, it clearly was helpful to a good number of players in getting them back on NFL radars. Reaser has already landed more than an AAF salary, and there will surely be more to follow.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/3/19
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Adam Gettis
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed (original round restricted free agent): WR Rashard Higgins
- Re-signed (exclusive rights free agent): DL Trevon Coley, DB Jermaine Whitehead
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed (ERFA): LB Reggie Gilbert, G Justin McCray
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed (ERFA): WR Marcus Kemp
- Waived: CB Step Durham
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Quadree Henderson
New York Jets
- Re-signed (ERFA): RB De’Angelo Henderson, LB Frankie Luvu
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed (ERFA): G Isaac Asiata, G Jesse Davis, DE Jonathan Woodard
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed (ERFA): S Isaiah Johnson, OL Mike Liedtke
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/2/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LS Patrick Scales
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: OL Josh Wells
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Blake Bell
Browns Trade Emmanuel Ogbah To Chiefs
Emmanuel Ogbah stayed away from the Browns’ voluntary workout on Monday with the expectation that he would be traded in the near future. As it turns out, the near future arrived in a matter of hours. The Browns have traded the defensive end to the Chiefs in exchange for safety Eric Murray, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
After a foot injury ended his 2017 season, Ogbah suffered an ankle malady early in 2018. The former second-round bounced back, however, and delivered three sacks in 14 games (all starts).Ogbah has 12.5 career sacks to his credit and will have an opportunity to make an impact in KC.
There was no room for Ogbah in Cleveland with Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon as the starting bookends and Chad Thomas, Chris Smith, and Anthony Zettel supporting the high-profile duo. He follows wide receiver Ricardo Louis and safety Derrick Kindred, other relics of the Sashi Brown era, out the door.
In the swap, the Chiefs and Browns each traded from a surplus to fill a weakness. The Browns were able to part with a DE after adding Vernon and the Chiefs have extra ammo at safety thanks to the addition of Tyrann Mathieu. Even without Eric Berry, the Chiefs were able to part with a supporting safety, enabling them to bolster a pass rush that no longer features Dee Ford or Justin Houston.
Murray, 25, made a career-high nine starts last season as he logged 55 tackles and two pass deflections. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 50 ranked safety in the NFL out of 93 eligible players, positioning him as a starting-caliber player.
Draft Notes: Sternberger, Jets, Thorson
The Patriots are on the lookout for tight end help in the wake of Rob Gronkowski‘s retirement, and the club will have a top-30 visit with Texas A&M TE Jace Sternberger, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The Pats could use their No. 32 overall pick on a tight end, and while that may be a little high for Sternberger, top prospects Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson may be off the board by that point. Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr. could be available, though, and there is no reason why New England, which has deployed two tight ends to great effect in the past, could not use several of its 12 picks in this year’s draft on the tight end position.
Now for more draft-related rumblings from around the league:
- In addition to the Patriots, Wilson reports that Sternberger has visits lined up with the Chiefs, Packers, Lions, Cowboys, Vikings, and Seahawks.
- Brian Costello of the New York Post does not believe that the Jets will invest high-end draft capital on the WR, RB, or TE positions this year in light of their free agent expenditures, but he still thinks the club could bolster those units with collegiate prospects. He suggests that Gang Green could use a middle- or late-round selection on a wideout, particularly if that player offers return ability, and he thinks a Day 3 blocking tight end and power back could also be in the cards. Of course, with only six draft picks at the moment, New York may need to focus on areas of greater need.
- Penn State DE Shareef Miller will visit with the Ravens, Cardinals, and Jets, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Miller currently projects as a Day 3 pick, but all three clubs could use pass rushing help, and Miller has the raw ability to succeed as a 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB.
- The Broncos may be hosting some of the top QBs in this year’s draft class, but they’re looking at more under-the-radar passers as well, as Mike Klis of 9News.com tweets that Denver will be working out Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson in early April. Thorson is expected to be a middle-round selection.
- Valdosta State CB Stephen Denmark has top-30 visits lined up with the Browns and Saints, per Wilson (via Twitter).
Chiefs, DL Chris Jones Discussing Extension
If the Chiefs have their way, Chris Jones will be sticking around Kansas City for the foreseeable future. General manager Brett Veach told Brooke Pryor of the Kansas City Star that the two sides have started discussing a contract extension.
“There’s a lot of time to go before the season starts, and he’s certainly a guy that we’ve targeted and would love to get done,” Veach said. “The conversations have started.
“I wouldn’t say they are heating up at a rapid pace, but you’ve got to start somewhere. We’ve had two to three of these conversations and they’re getting better.”
As Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com points out, the former second-rounder is entering the final year of his contract. Jones is set to earn a $1.2MM base salary and will account for a $1.3MM cap hit.
Following his 2018 season, the 24-year-old should end up seeing a sizable pay raise. Jones had a breakout campaign last year, finishing with a career-high 40 tackles and 15.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him fifth among 112 interior defenders, with his pass-rushing score ranking second at the position.
With Dee Ford out of the picture, the Chiefs will lean even more on Jones in 2019. The team can also turn to Derrick Nnadi and Xavier Williams in the middle of its defensive line, and reports yesterday indicated that the Chiefs were still pursuing free agent Allen Bailey. Either way, we should see Jones top his 11 starts from 2018.