Report: Kansas City Chiefs Claim Damion Square Off Waivers
By Ben Nielsen
A report from Josina Anderson of ESPN says the Kansas City Chiefs have claimed defensive lineman Damion Square off of waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles. Twitter proof:
Square was released by the Eagles yesterday after choosing to go with draft pick (and former Oregon Duck) Taylor Hart over Square. Square went undrafted in 2013 out of Alabama and ended up seeing minimal action with the Eagles last season.
Reports from Philadelphia suggest Square is best suited at nose tackle, an area of desperate need for the Chiefs as they have nothing behind Dontari Poe at the position. It was also a surprise he was made available to the Chiefs in the first place. Some tweets to consider:
Taylor Hart in with Damion Square out is kind of outrageous. I didn't see much out of Hart in camp. #Oregon
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) August 30, 2014
Taylor Hart over Damion Square. I was told by several that Square was "light years" ahead of Hart, but Hart was drafted, went to Oregon.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffPMosher) August 30, 2014
I neglected (unintentionally) to tweet before that Beau Allen's emergence at NT made Square expendable. Hart is a pure DE.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffPMosher) August 30, 2014
However, the coaches always tell us that the linemen are cross-trained to play both spots. Square's a better NT, though.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffPMosher) August 30, 2014
So although Square is the better overall lineman compared to Hart, he wasn't gonna see much time at his best spot. That's why they cut him.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffPMosher) August 30, 2014
Kansas City must release somebody from the 53-man roster in order to make room for Square. The Chiefs were only carrying five defensive linemen before the Square move so the roster cut will likely come from another position.