Report: Chiefs To Give Gaither A Shot At Left Tackle

According to Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star, when the Kansas City Chiefs start practice this afternoon, recently signed T Jared Gaither will get his first looks at left tackle.

While I think the Chiefs should consider starting Gaither out at RT, I can see the logic here. LT is what Gaith played and played well in Baltimore. While he spent last season out with an injury, starting him out at the position he is the most familiar with might not be a bad idea.

The, of course, doesn’t mean that Branden Albert is finished at LT or even that the Chiefs aren’t happy with his play there. I think they just want Gaither to be as comfortable as possible and to have the best chance to succeed in getting his legs back underneath him.

Really it is a win-win situation for the Chiefs. If Gaither performs really well and shows he is a better LT than Branden Albert, then Todd Haley can move Albert over to RT and upgrade two positions at once.

Should Gaither show he has lost a bit of his ability but that he can still play, the Chiefs can just move him over to RT and let him compete with Barry Richardson.

I am pretty comfortable with watching this situation play itself out. Plus, a little competition probably won’t hurt Albert’s development either. He has never really been challenged since being drafted by the Chiefs in the first round so Gaither getting snaps at LT might just give him the motivation he needs to take his game to the next level.

What do you think Addicts? Are the Chiefs making the right move by starting Gaither out at LT? How do you think this will all shake out?

Props to AA reader toapPARA for the tip on this.