Why Chiefs fans shouldn’t expect much from C.J. Spiller
By Matt Conner
With the signing of C.J. Spiller, the Kansas City Chiefs hope to strike gold with the veteran, versatile running back to the mix heading into OTAs.
Four years ago, the signing of C.J. Spiller would have been considered a major offseason move. Now? Not so much. On Friday, the Chiefs signed the former Buffalo Bills running back in an apparent attempt to kick the tires on the now-veteran back to see what might be left of a once very promising career.
The #Chiefs have signed RB C.J. Spiller.
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) February 24, 2017
Spiller entered the NFL as the 9th overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft as an exciting offensive prospect out of Clemson. However, Spiller failed to fully live up to the hype. He enjoyed a banner year when Fred Jackson was injured in 2012 with over 1,700 yards from scrimmage but he never again came close to those numbers and soon found himself out of Buffalo.
The Saints signed Spiller to a four-year deal in 2015, but it only took one year before he was a healthy inactive on the roster. The Saints released him early last season. From there, the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Jets both took a flier on Spiller, but he failed to take advantage of those opportunities as well.
John Dorsey has had some success with this sort of player in years past. Remember how Joe McKnight returned from injury to make a quick impact on the Chiefs two seasons ago. Perhaps Spiller can return to form and enjoy some semblance of success with the Chiefs. It’s definitely worth a flier given that teams can bring in as many players as they want this time of year without worrying about roster limits.
At this point, the signing of Spiller is more about curiosity than anything, a longing to simply look closer at a player to see what might be left. It does nothing to really address the concerns at running back and should not preclude the Chiefs from making further moves to bolster the position in the upcoming NFL Draft.