Kansas City Chiefs won’t retain Phillip Gaines
By Matt Conner
A source told the Kansas City Star that the Chiefs won’t be making any overtures to keep cornerback Phillip Gaines on the roster for next season and beyond.
The Kansas City Chiefs have reportedly decided to let cornerback Phillip Gaines go in free agency without an attempt to re-sign him beyond his rookie contract. According to Terez Paylor from the Star, Gaines will now be able to sign with any team beginning on Wednesday with the start of the new league year.
Gaines is a rare early-round miss for former general manager John Dorsey as the third round pick out of Rice never quite found a consistency to match his athleticism and potential. Injuries certainly didn’t help his cause, as Gaines never once made more than 5 starts in a single season. During the course of his four-year career with the Chiefs, Gaines made 16 starts in 41 total games played with a single interception to his name in that span. He also added 14 passes defended.
Instead of grabbing a starting role at any point opposite of Sean Smith or Marcus Peters, Gaines eventually lost starting opportunities that came his way each season to less heralded players like Terrance Mitchell or Kenneth Acker or fellow third round choice Steven Nelson. Despite plenty of chances to grab the proverbial brass ring, Gaines was never quite able to put it all together on the field.
That said, perhaps Gaines would do well with a change of scenery. At the age of 26 and given his draft investment, some team is going to take a chance on him as an upside play. As for the Chiefs side, they’ve admitted that enough time has passed to move on altogether.