Chiefs Free Agency: Day 1 Wrap Up

The first few hours of NFL free agency were pretty dull if you were a Chiefs fan. The news started rolling out fast but not a single article, tweet or Facebook post mentioned the Kansas City Chiefs.

Then the news broke that the Chiefs were bringing in TE John Carlson in for a visit. Carlson, a former Seattle Seahawk, missed all of last season with an injury and was ranked as the 57th best TE in the NFL in 2010 by Pro Football Focus. #57 out of 63.

To top it all off, the top RT in FA, Eric Winston, was reportedly on his way to Miami to meet with the Dolphins. I had my torch lit and was just sitting down to sharpen my pitchfork when a bunch of things happened in rapid success.

News quickly broke that the Chiefs did indeed have a visit scheduled with Winston. They would also be bringing in RB’s Peyton Hillis from Cleveland and Mike Tolbert from San Diego.

That certainly got Chiefs Nation talking.

After hearing that Peyton Manning refused to visit Kansas City, it is understandable that the slow start to FA as far as news was concerned, had KC fans worried. The good news is that there is a good chance that the team will sign either Hillis or Tolbert and should the Dolphins allow Winston to leave, the Chiefs might have an excellent shot at taking care of their problem at RT.

Today will hopefully bring more news and potentially a signing. KC has needs at NT, TE, RB and all along the offensive line. They also would like to bring in a veteran QB to either back up or challenge Matt Cassel for the starting job. With Jason Campbell signing with the Bears, however, the second tier QB market is thinning. Kyle Orton is set to visit the Cowboys, although most agree he has little chance of unseating Tony Romo. Orton may take his time but the Chiefs would be wise to keep after him. At this point, he probably has the best chance of anyone left to take Cassel’s job.

We’ll be monitoring the team’s movements all day long so stay tuned!