We’ve entered the month of June which sort of acts as a second round of free agency. Every now and then a key player will be cut for salary cap purposes and stir up the market. June is also a good time to add a player after seeing one’s team over the first few OTAs and determining there is a hole left in the roster that needs to be filled.
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June is also a time for a group of players who went unsigned before the NFL draft to be picked up by teams who may not have filled a need they wanted to fill in the draft. This may be the case for the Chiefs, who some suggest still have holes at wide receiver and safety.
One name still out there on the safety market is Ed Reed, who played with both the Houston Texans and New York Jets last season. NFL Mocks suggests Kansas City could be a place for Reed to land if the Chiefs don’t like what they see out of their young secondary.
"One of the hopes for the Kansas City Chiefs was to find help at safety in order to lend a hand to Pro Bowler Eric Berry. Despite his best efforts, he is not the best coverage man, proving to be more of a classic box safety. So to think Husain Abdullah or [Sanders Commings] would be responsible for the back end is a little unnerving for Chiefs fans. Even at age 35, Ed Reed would likely be an upgrade over them and his experience in a 3-4 system would mesh well. Throw in Justin Houston and Tamba Hali as pass rushers, and it’s a good spot to land."
Reed would be an interesting thought for the Chiefs if they feel the need to add more depth to their secondary. It is likely no team would be willing to give Reed a starting job at this stage of his career. His body cannot hold up to the 1,000 snaps he used to play year in and year out. But it is not out of the question that Reed could give the Chiefs a solid 300-400 snaps this season in the secondary.
There are some positives to adding Reed should the right situation present itself. Kansas City is getting really young in the secondary between Commings, Phillip Gaines, Marcus Cooper, and potential undrafted free agent making the squad. Having a veteran like Reed who has won two Super Bowl rings and played on some of the NFL’s best defenses could be a nice guy to have around to teach younger players. This would be especially valuable if the Chiefs decide to part ways with Brandon Flowers.
The issue here is Kansas City is getting younger – and consequently faster – by design. Kansas City may choose to error on the side of adding a young unproven player and trust their coaching staff to develop him as opposed to bringing in Reed for one season.
Never the less, Reed is an interesting guy to keep your eye on. Injuries do happen (see: Commings in training camp last year) and the Chiefs may have to sign someone to overcome that loss. There are not a lot of players left out there that would be much better than what Reed could bring to the table.