Leonard Pope Signs With Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed now former Chiefs TE Leonard Pope to a one-year contract.

The Chiefs once lost a Priest.

And now they’ve lost a Pope.

Pope is one Chief I will remember fondly. He was never really that good. An average blocker on a good day and prone to penalties, Pope had his moments. He always seemed to come up with a key catch when the Chiefs needed it. He had a great game last season against the Packers and helped the Chiefs pull off the upset.

The signing of Kevin Boss made Pope expendable. The Chiefs are installing a new offense and so Pope has followed former Chiefs coach Todd Haley to Pittsburgh. Lookout AFC North. The Pope is coming to town.

Pro Football Focus ranked Pope as the 62nd best TE in the NFL last season.

Out of 63.

His big knock was his terrible run blocking. He received a grade of -11.9 in that department. His tendency to draw penalties also killed him. He was graded -6.4 there. Pope drew an astounding 10 flags last year. Not a single one of those penalties were decline or were offset by a penalty on the defense. When Pope got a flag, he got a flag.

Pope knows penalties.

In the passing game, Pope caught 24 balls for 247 yards and one TD.

We’ll have a “So long Leonard Pope” video later tonight. For now, I need ideas for farewell songs.