Chiefs Audition Khaseem Greene
- Former Chicago linebacker Khaseem Greene tried out for the Chiefs, per Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). Greene started six games for the Bears from 2012-14, and has spent time on a few other NFL rosters, but hasn’t appeared in the NFL in two years.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/20/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Ronald Zamort
Cleveland Browns
- Signed LB James Burgess, TE J.P. Holtz
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Austin Traylor
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Andrew Turzilli
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Max McCaffrey
Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DT Cory Johnson
New York Jets
- Signed: C Kyle Friend, TE Jason Vander Laan
Philadelphia Eagles
- Cut: TE Marcel Jensen
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Al-Hajj Shabazz
- Cut: CB Brandon Dixon
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR DiAndre Campbell, CB Duke Thomas
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Malcolm Johnson
- Placed on practice squad IR: OL Robert Myers
Chiefs Promote David King To Active Roster
- The Chiefs have promoted DL David King to the active roster to take the place of LB Derrick Johnson, who was placed on IR yesterday (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star).
Breer On GM Search, Harbaugh, Draft
When it comes to being a GM, is it more about who you know than what you know? In his latest column, Albert Breer of The MMQB spoke with one league official who suggested that the NFL’s career development advisory panel has something of a fraternity-vibe.
“It’s all full of nepotism. It’s a joke. And it starts with Charley Casserly,” the personnel man said.
Casserly rejected the idea that he, Ron Wolf, Bill Polian, Ernie Accorsi, John Madden, Tony Dungy and Carl Peterson are aiming to line up their friends with jobs, but he did acknowledge that connections help.
“It’s so different than it is with coaches,” Casserly said. “Coaches are so clearly defined. You know who calls the plays, you see them on TV, coordinators have press conferences. It’s just not like that in scouting. Are they pro? College? None of them are making big decisions. What you need is networking. It’s not politicking.”
Casserly was directly involved with the Jets’ coach and GM search process in 2015. Gang Green wound up hiring Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan – two former co-workers of Casserly’s.
Here’s more from Breer:
- Breer identified the following executives as people who could immediately jump into a GM job somewhere: Chiefs VP of player personnel Chris Ballard, Patriots VP of player personnel Nick Caserio, Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, Cowboys assistant director of player personnel Will McClay, Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Falcons assistant GM Scott Pioli, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf.
- The widespread feeling in NFL circles is that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will be back in pro football eventually, even if it’s not happening right now. For his part, Harbaugh says that he is incredibly happy as the Wolverines’ coach.
- Is Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen the next under-the-radar quarterback prospect a la Carson Wentz? It was Craig Bohl who recruited Carson Wentz to North Dakota State and he is now Allen’s coach at Wyoming. It’s hard to say whether the 6’5″, 222-pound signal caller has the same kind of talent, but his stock is rising. “He’s a big ol’ kid with a big arm, and he’s pretty athletic too,” said one AFC exec. “We gotta learn more about him, but the tools are there.” Allen, a redshirt sophomore, has plenty of time to develop.
- Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck recently predicted that Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush will be an “incredibly high draft pick” this year. Apparently, talent evaluators do not agree. “He may get drafted late because of the [lack of] quality at the position,” said one area scout assigned to CMU. “He’s an accurate thrower with deceptive athletic ability to extend plays with his feet. Not a dynamic or explosive athlete, but good enough to avoid the rush and create at times. Average arm at best, but he’s got solid touch on intermediate and deep balls. He just lacks elite velocity.”
Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson Done For Season
TODAY, 11:50am: As expected, the Chiefs have placed Johnson on the injured reserve (via Terez A. Paylor on Twitter).
DECEMBER 9th, 9:27am: Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson has suffered a ruptured Achilles, coach Andy Reid told reporters on Thursday night. The injury, of course, will end Johnson’s season and the team will place him on IR. 
[RELATED: Chiefs Likely To Franchise Dontari Poe?]
This isn’t Johnson’s first experience with a torn Achilles. He suffered the same injury back in 2014 and missed the majority of the season as a result. The good news is that he rebounded well, starting all 16 games in 2015 and totaling 116 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. For his efforts, he was ranked as the No. 8 linebacker in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.
Johnson has been halted in the middle of another strong campaign – he is rated No. 21 amongst NFL linebackers by PFF with a top five grade for his coverage abilities. Now, the Chiefs will probably turn to 2015 fifth-round pick D.J. Alexander as a stand-in. Johnson will be sorely missed, but the good news is that the Chiefs’ D was able to hang on after losing him as they sealed a 21-13 win over the Raiders.
Johnson is tied with punter Dustin Colquitt as KC’s longest-tenured player. He signed a three-year, $21MM deal to stay with the Chiefs this offseason, so he should be under contract through the 2018 season.
Would Travis Kelce Be A Bigger Star In A Larger Market?
- Travis Kelce is having a career season, but the Chiefs‘ tight end can’t help but wonder whether he’d be a bigger star in a larger market. “I talk to my manager about that a lot and it is what it is,” Kelce said on PFT Live (via ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio). “I mean it kind of played a part in terms of branching out into the TV world for me. It’s one of those things where you just kind of, you come out of the draft, you just want to be as marketable as possible I think. That’s one of the things about the NFL is that you have small-market teams, big-market teams. I feel like the bigger market teams do kind of have an advantage in terms of off-the-field money. I think when you have big-time businesses around that want to be part of the sports community and the athletic community it’s a huge advantage in the bigger markets. So without a doubt.”
[SOURCE LINK]
Chiefs Work Out Laurinaitis, Brinkley, Irving
The Chiefs worked out a host of linebackers on Monday, including a handful of notables. James Laurinaitis, Nate Irving, Jasper Brinkley, Jayson DiManche, Nick Moody, and Miles Burris all showed their stuff for Kansas City (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com). KC could look to sign a linebacker with Derrick Johnson out for the season.
[RELATED: Derrick Johnson Not Considering Retirement]
Laurinaitis inked a three-year, $8.5MM deal with the Saints in the offseason. Expected to provide veteran leadership for New Orleans, Laurinaitis suffered a setback when he went down with a quad injury. He insisted that he was healthy enough to return from IR, but that possibility went out the window when rookie Sheldon Rankins was activated. Last month, the Saints agreed to release Laurinaitis after having paid him roughly $2MM for his six games and 17 tackles.
Irving was speculatively connected to the Colts after D’Qwell Jackson‘s four-game suspension, but Indianapolis wasn’t interested in a reunion. The 28-year-old was dropped by the Colts at final cutdowns despite being in the midst of a multi-year deal. Injuries limited him to eight games (two starts) last year with just eleven tackles. Prior to joining Indianapolis, Irving spent four years with the Broncos, but wasn’t a starter until his final season in Denver.
We haven’t heard much about Brinkley since October when he auditioned for the Patriots. The 31-year-old had 67 tackles and one sack for the Giants last year and he has been exceptionally durable throughout his career. Still, he has been unable to find work so far in 2016.
Jamaal Charles Could Return For Playoffs
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles has a “realistic chance” to return from injured reserve and contribute during the postseason, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Charles was placed on IR on November 1 and is technically eligible to play again in Week 17, but Kansas City is apparently eyeing a playoff return for its veteran back.
[RELATED: Derrick Johnson Not Considering Retirement]
Nearly every report on Charles since he had surgery on both knees — dual procedures which increased the possibility he’d play again this season — has been positive and indicated a likelihood that Charles would be a factor during the postseason. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported the day after Charles’ operations that he could probably return this season, and reaffirmed that notion just last week.
The Chiefs are a near-lock to secure a postseason berth, and also have a good chance of earning a first-round bye — FiveThirtyEight gives Kansas City an 81% chance of avoiding Wild Card weekend, the second-best odds in the AFC behind New England. A bye could be important for Charles, as it would give him an extra week to recover before getting back on the field. If the Chiefs do get a bye, Charles would get roughly 10 weeks off between November 1 and a mid-January playoff game.
Charles, who turns 30 years old later this month, managed to play in only three games this season, and put up just 40 yards rushing on 12 carries. In his absence, Spencer Ware has become Kansas City’s primary running back, posting nearly 800 yards thus far in 2016. Charcandrick West has chipped in, as well, while the Chiefs also recently re-acquired Knile Davis.
Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson Not Considering Retirement
Despite suffering a torn Achilles on Thursday night, Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson doesn’t have any plans to retire, as Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “I will play again,” said Johnson, who does plan to undergo surgery to repair the injury.
[RELATED: Chiefs Likely To Franchise Dontari Poe?]
Not only does Johnson intend to return next season, he plans to fulfill the rest of the three-year, $21MM deal he signed prior this spring. “I have two years on my deal and I intend to finish them out strong,” Johnson told Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). In 2017, Johnson is due a base salary of $4.75MM ($2MM of which is guaranteed), a roster bonus of $1MM, and a workout bonus of $250K. His cap charge is $7.75MM in 2017 before increasing to $9.75MM in 2018.
As such, the Chiefs could conceivably save as much as $4MM on next year’s cap by releasing Johnson with a post-June 1 designation. However, that scenario is unlikely, given that Kansas City is would still carry $3.75MM in dead money if they cut Johnson. Additionally, the 34-year-old Johnson is viewed as a leader of the Chiefs’ defense, and is still quite effective — Johnson has graded as the league’s No. 21 linebacker this season with a top-five rank for his coverage abilities, according to Pro Football Focus.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid, too, offered positive words on Johnson, and indicated that the veteran linebacker would return next season, as Paylor writes in a full article. “I want him around here — I don’t want him going anywhere,” Reid said. “I want him to hang around, do his rehab and get himself back to where he can play. But in the meantime, he can work on a little coaching there with some of our young guys.”
La Canfora: Chiefs Likely To Franchise Poe
The Chiefs will probably put the franchise tag on defensive tackle Dontari Poe in 2017 while working to lock up Eric Berry on a long-term deal, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com opines. Berry, a cancer survivor, is in the midst of a tremendous season as he plays out his one-year franchise tender.
Over the summer, the odds of Berry staying in Kansas City didn’t seem strong. Now, one has to imagine that the Chiefs will do everything in their power to retain him. Using the franchise tag on Berry for a second straight year would be costly and they would be better off using it on Poe and delaying a long-term contract with him.
Berry would be owed $12.96MM if the Chiefs again place the franchise tag on him, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out should the Chiefs balk at meeting the soon-to-be 28-year-old safety’s asking price, he notes other teams would, mentioning Berry’s hometown Falcons as one who might. Kansas City stands to be one of the most cap-strapped teams in the league in 2017, so navigating the Poe/Berry situation will be difficult.
- Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles is doing well, working hard, and hopeful to be back for the playoffs, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The ninth-year running back is eligible to come off IR in Week 17. The Chiefs can be in much better position to score a playoff bye — which would be their first since 2003 — if they can navigate past the Raiders tonight. That would give Charles an extra week in his quest to make a comeback and likely return as a change-of-pace back behind Spencer Ware.