Teicher: Chiefs Sign Former Baltimore Ravens Tackle Jared Gaither
Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star is reporting the Kansas City Chiefs have signed former Baltimore Ravens tackle Jared Gaither.
Gaither is only 25 and is absolutely massive at 6’9″ and 340 pounds. He was drafted by the Ravens with a 5th round pick in the 2007 supplemental draft. He started and played well at LT for the Ravens in 2008. In 2009 he suffered a serious head injury in a game against the New England Patriots. He spent all of 2010 on IR.
Gaither has some character/work ethic concerns. From the Baltimore Sun:
CONS: His work ethic and health is very questionable at this point. He lost his starting job at Maryland because he didn’t show a commitment to the game, and he’s garnering the same reputation in the NFL. Gaither reported a handful of times to the offseason conditioning program last season, and he often misses practice time. A Ravens official said the team can’t depend on Gaither to play every Sunday. A foot injury caused him to miss most of the offseason camps, and a back injury sidelined him for the entire 2010 season (although his agent said Gaither has fully recovered now).
From weblogs.baltimoresun.com (share this quote)
While that doesn’t sound good, Gaither is a no-risk signing for the Chiefs. He is a player with tremendous upside and the Chiefs likely got him for next to nothing. My guess is he agreed to a one-year contract. If he comes to camp and shows he can stay healthy and that he has turned over a new leaf as far as his work ethic is concerned, he could revive his career in KC as a RT. If he shows the same old problems, the Chiefs can cut him.
Brilliant signing by Pioli in my opinion. Very little risk with the potential for a very high reward.