January 1, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin (99) prior to kickoff of a game against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The San Diego Chargers have signed former 49er and Saint, Aubrayo Franklin.

This is of note to Chiefs fans because Franklin was a very popular potential free agent among the KC faithful just two seasons ago. At that time, Chiefs fans were desperate for the team to bring in a legit nose tackle for the first time since switching to the 3-4 defense.

The Chiefs took a swing at former Browns NT Shaun Rogers before the start of free agency, however Rogers ended up signing with the New Orleans Saints. Later, regular free agency began (Rogers had been released by Cleveland which was why he was available early) Chiefs fans turned their attention to Franklin who was coming off a big year in San Fransisco.

But the Saints beat the Chiefs again (though there was never any indication that KC was actually interested) by signing Franklin to play in their 4-3.

Unfortunately for the Saints, the Franklin marriage didn’t work out so well. The DT seemed out of his element in the 4-3 and recorded only 17 tackles in a very sub-par season.

Franklin hit the market again this offseason but received little initial interest.

Until now.

The Bolts released veteran Luis Castillo yesterday and replaced him with Franklin today. Franklin will battle Antonio Garay and Cam Thomas for playing time at NT.

Franklin will be 32 in late August.

Aubrayo Franklin has reportedly signed with the New Orleans Saints.

Franklin was a favorite free agency target of Kansas City Chiefs fans. He was widely believed to be the best free agent nose tackle on the market. Since the Chiefs have a great need at NT after losing veteran Ron Edwards in free agency, it seemed like a match made in heaven for Franklin and the Chiefs.

Looks like it wasn’t meant to be.

Some opponents of a Franklin signing claimed he likely wanted too much money and a long-term deal. While we don’t know how much the Saints are paying him yet, it appears Franklin signed a one-year agreement with the Saints.

Ironically, Franklin is the second player that has been swiped away from the clutches of KC Chiefs fans.

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note: This is the first in a recurring series between Lyle Graverson and myself, wherein we debate various aspects of this team we’re all obsessed with.  Lyle and I rarely have the same take on anything, but both like to consider ourselves reasonable men.  We’ll let you Addicts be the judge of that.  I think its safe to say TIDL just became a big Graverson supporter.   

We’ve heard this song, seen this film, and danced this dance before.  After scintillating us all with the early addition of Steve Breaston*, the Chiefs have lost two fan favorites (or at least AA favorites) along the d-line, passed on the Aubrayo Franklin sweepstakes, and released arguably their best offensive lineman.  Most, if not all of these moves were designed to save money.  This is how Clark Hunt’s Chiefs play the offseason game.

*Our giddiness over Breaston, a guy who has averaged 700 yards and 2 touchdowns the last two years, is its own kind of evidence as to just how free-agent starved Kansas City has been.  I mean, I literally jumped for joy when I read about that signing. 

A few weeks ago, I wrote that the way the Chiefs approached free agency would be very telling.  Here’s what I said about the over-the-hill intangible all-stars the Chiefs had signed the past few free agencies:

What I’m hoping is that those guys were brought in just to buy time.  We certainly don’t need players like that anymore (we probably never did).  But what Todd Haley has proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt, is that he will start those guys every game and praise the job they’re doing no matter how badly they play.  We must depend on Pioli here.  He simply cannot give Haley any more old, broken toys to play with.

This is what bothers me about the Kelly Gregg signing.  It isn’t that I dislike Gregg.  There were times a few years ago when I thought to myself, “Man, it’d be nice to at least have a guy like Kelly Gregg.”  But Gregg will be 35 next season, and the team that has had a front-row seat for the past decade just cut him (despite having a young nose tackle that could seemingly use some mentoring).  If it looks like a Vrabel, and smells like a Vrabel, and leads like a Vrabel…

I’m not losing sight of the Breaston signing.  He’s this year’s Ryan Lilja, a solid player who will make our offense better.  The Chiefs got him at a reasonable price, also like Lilja.  But you’ve got to wonder why every player the Chiefs get these days is at a reasonable price.  Is it because Pioli is a genius, or because he isn’t allowed to go after anyone that could break the bank?  Is it a coincidence that every halfway pricey player isn’t part of the right 53?

more after le jump:

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If you have read any of my Armchair Addict posts over the last month you know by now that I am in favor of the Chiefs signing free agent nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin. There are some that are on record as being in favor of this move, but there are also some that have voiced several concerns with this move. The main concerns include: he’s too expensive, too small, too old, not good enough/not enough tackles, was only playing hard for a contract, there are better FA options out there, and we’d be better off just using some combination of Ron Edwards, Shaun Smith, and Jerrell Powe. In this post I will debunk ALL of these worries using both material from my previous posts and some new material.

Am I obsessed with the idea of the Chiefs signing Franklin? Yes.

Do I feel I have the information to back up that obsession? Yes.

I’ll address all of your concerns about bringing this big man to KC after the break.

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We all continue to sit around hoping that the lockout is going to end soon. As we cling to any bits of optimism we can find most people seem to think that they will come to an agreement sooner rather than later. That mindset has led to an increase in talk about what players the Chiefs should go after in free agency once the lockout lifts. I have done it myself (Aubrayo Franklin, I don’t care what Andrew says, he’s the man). However, that having been said, I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t expect the Chiefs to bring in hardly any new free agents this year. More than that, I’m here to tell you that this is a good thing.

“But Lyle, aren’t you the one that told us that there is likely to be a raised salary floor that will force the Chiefs to have to spend more money?”

Yes, yes I am.

“Also, aren’t you the one that told us that Scott Pioli will have to win the battle of the GMs once the lockout lifts in order for the Chiefs to succeed this season?”

Yup, that was me as well.

I’ll explain how I can believe all three things to be true without being totally off my rocker after the jump.

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