NFL Rumors Round-Up: B.J. Raji, Jason Avant, Emmanuel Sanders

Nov 28, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Green Bay Packers defensive end B.J. Raji (90) against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

A lot of stuff went down on Friday, including the signing of defensive lineman Vance Walker. Beyond his signing there were a few noteworthy things that were made public which have yet to be covered. Not anymore, however. Let’s get to it.

B.J. RAJI

A few hours before the Chiefs signed Vance Walker the Green Bay Packers retained their own free agent, B.J. Raji. This is noteworthy because shortly after the signing we learned the Packers were not the only team trying to sign Raji.

Raji is a former first round pick – the same draft class as Tyson Jackson – and has had an up and down career. He’s not necessarily a pass rusher but his flexibility along the defensive line would have been useful. Had the Chiefs signed him he would have clearly been the team’s second best option to play nose tackle should Dontari Poe need a break.

None of this matter now that Raji has signed with Green Bay and the Chiefs landed Walker, but it is interesting the Chiefs were willing to take a run at him. One would assume the Chiefs moved on to Walker once they realized a Raji deal wasn’t happening. Aside from Raji and Walker, the Chiefs were also reported to be to have shown in Red Bryant in free agency.

EMMANUEL SANDERS

Pittsburgh Steelers free agent wide receiver spent the night in Kansas City and is due for a visit to San Francisco on Saturday if he does not come to an agreement with the Chiefs.

For those worried money may be an issue after signing Walker:

Kansas City has about $7.3 million in cap space before the Walker signing. The structure of Walker’s deal hasn’t been made public so it is difficult to know how much cap room the Chiefs have now. Unless the deal is completely front-loaded, John Dorsey should have plenty of room to operate with to land Sanders and sign a full daft class.

JASON AVANT

Should things go south with Sanders it looks like the Chiefs may have their backup plan lined up.

Whether Avant still ends up in KC even with a Sanders signing is unknown. There has also been no update on the Joe Morgan front so he could still be in play for the Chiefs, too. One would think a Sanders’ decision would knock down the necessary dominoes at wide receiver.