Chiefs Have Shown Interest In Stanford Routt
The Oakland Raiders released CB Stanford Routt yesterday, and the Kansas City Chiefs called to inquire about his services, says Routt’s agent.
Route has visits scheduled with the Bills and Titans and has also drawn interest from the Vikings and Cowboys.
I both like and hate this move at the same time.
I like it because it signals to me that Scott Pioli is being a bit more aggressive in his pursuit of free agents. The Chiefs generally wait for the market to settle on a player before getting involved (they are doing that to a degree here as they did not schedule a visit with Route), but the fact that they quickly made a call is at least encouraging.
I hate this news because of what it might mean for Brandon Carr’s future in KC.
The Raiders foolishly paid Routt a bunch of money to be their #1 CB last year following the departure of Nnamdi Asomugha. Routt did well playing alongside Asomugha but he struggled a bit being the #1 guy. He wasn’t terrible but he did have some problems. From ESPN:
"According to STATS LLC, opponents were held to a 47.4 completion percentage against Routt. But he allowed eight touchdown passes, tied for the second-most in the NFL, and led the league with 17 penalties committed. The Raiders had to make a decision regarding Routt because if he was still on the roster Friday, he would have been guaranteed a base salary of $5 million."
Routt is likely a very solid second corner, just like Brandon Carr. Since the Chiefs may lose Carr to free agency, they could be looking at Routt as a cheaper option to replace him. Then again, there is no guarantee Routt will be cheaper. Good cover CBs are valued in today’s NFL and Routt may fetch more than the Chiefs are willing to pay.
It is possible that the Chiefs are hoping to bring in Routt to compete with Carr. A trio of Flowers, Carr and Routt would be formidable but also expensive, so I find that scenario harder to believe.
What do you think, Addicts? Why were the Chiefs looking into Routt? Where will he end up?