Chiefs should sign cornerback Sam Shields, says Bill Barnwell

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell says the Kansas City Chiefs should check into signing free agent cornerback Sam Shields.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a ton of talent at defensive back competing for a limited number of roster slots this preseason, but ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes that they should add one more name to the list: Sam Shields.

Shields is a veteran cornerback who spent the last seven years with the Green Bay Packers. Chiefs general manager John Dorsey will already be plenty familiar with Shields since he worked for Green Bay when the team signed him, and the Chiefs could use a veteran with his skill set despite the glut of developmental talent. Barnwell writes:

"NFL teams can never have too many cornerbacks, and while the Chiefs have a star on one side of the field in Marcus Peters, it wouldn’t hurt to take a flier on a veteran to compete with Phillip Gaines and Steven Nelson at corner. Dorsey scouted Shields in 2010, when the Packers signed the Miami product as an undrafted free agent and discovered a gem. If Shields is physically able to play after suffering a concussion last season, the Chiefs would do well to look into the former Pro Bowler."

Shields, now 29, suffered a concussion in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and never fully recovered. While Shields has never played a full season of 16 games, it was by far the most games he’s missed yet in his career, having averaged 13 starts/year for the previous three seasons in Green Bay. In six full seasons, Shields has 18 career interceptions and 67 passes defended.

For the Chiefs, adding Shields would provide some veteran competition for Nelson and Gaines, as Barnwell wrote, along with Terrance Mitchell, who played outstanding down the stretch last year for the Chiefs. In addition, the team also has D.J. White, Leon McQuay III, Kenneth Acker, De’Vante Bausby, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Ashton Lampkin, Marqueston Huff, J.R. Nelson, Devin Chappell and Jordan Sterns competing for roles.