The Kansas City Chiefs announced the signing of 6 new players on Tuesday. Here’s a full breakdown of each and how they fit.
The Kansas City Chiefs announced the arrival of six new members of the team on Tuesday, a group which includes several rookie hopefuls and a couple vets hoping for another chance. From a punter with size to a Chris Conley clone to a former Saints corner who hasn’t played in 3 years, here’s a full breakdown of each player and how he fits on the Chiefs.
Ricky Ali’ifua, DL, 6-2, 297 lbs., Utah State
Stats: 29 total tackles, 8 for a loss; 3.5 sacks; 4 QB hurries; 3 pass break-ups
What he brings: An explosive defensive lineman who has the size to man the middle while simultaneously providing an impressive push. Ali’ifua, who led Utah State in sacks last year with 3.5, is a late bloomer of sorts, since he didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school.
Where he fits: Defensive line coach Britt Reid has proven his ability to get the most out of a player. The Chiefs lessened the glut of playmakers vying for reps when they released Jaye Howard before the NFL Draft, leaving Allen Bailey, Chris Jones, Bennie Logan as the likely base starters with Rakeem Nunez-Roches as the primary rotational body. Tanoh Kpassagnon is raw but could work his way into the line-up, a la Jones in 2016.
Beyond that is a wide open competition for practice squad slots or, maybe, an active roster slot in case Kpassagnon proves to be not ready in any way. The Chiefs rolled with five defensive linemen on the roster during the regular season, so only one of Jarvis Jenkins, Montori Hughes, T.J. Barnes, Ricky Ali’ifua and David King should expect to land that spot (and again that’s if the Chiefs have to waste an inactive roster slot on Kpassagnon). If not, those guys are fighting for the practice squad.