One reason may be because Ben Grubbs is no longer here. Grubbs was cut with a failed physical designation, which will cost the team $5.2M in dead money. That’s a pretty big hit to take for a guy who was a very good guard throughout his career but it probably shows the severity of the neck injury he suffered last season. Another is the Chiefs wanting to keep depth on the roster due to the losses of Jeff Allen (Texans) and Donald Stephenson (Broncos).
All three of these players were starters at one point during the season and even though they had their ups and downs (Stephenson in particular) just because they’re gone doesn’t mean the players that are still here are better.
As it stands today the Chiefs only have three definite starters on the offensive line: Eric Fisher at left tackle, Mitch Morse at center and newly signed Mitchell Schwartz at right tackle. It won’t surprise me if both guard spots are an open competition during training camp this season. Jah Reid signed a three-year, $10.2M extension during the season and for that kind of commitment I expect him to be given every opportunity to lock down a starting guard role.
The same goes for former sixth-round pick Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. He finally started to show some of the potential that caused the Chiefs to draft him out of Canada, noticeably at right guard. Barring a drop-off in development I’d be very surprised if he wasn’t starting Week 1. Jarrod Pughsley is another player the Chiefs have been developing and will be trying to earn a roster spot next season. Much like Jah Reid he can play both tackle and guard, which is a valuable skill on a Chiefs team that values versatility in its linemen.
So where does this leave Fanaika? I think he’s going to need to show a lot more than we saw last year if he wants to win a starting job. I also think that there are better candidates (Pughsley being one of them) for the 6th man combo tackle/guard role that Reid and Stephenson filled at times in 2015.
Maybe Fanaika comes back at a lower weight and with improved lateral ability to hold his own at the tackle position. I could also see him going back to only playing guard and focus on improving there. Hell, there’s a chance he could be cut at any point this offseason.
As of right now, however, Paul Fanaika is still a Chief and I’ll be watching to see what he does to show he belongs on the roster.