Former Chiefs linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis signs with New York Jets
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs have officially lost linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis on the open market after he signed a two-year deal with the New York Jets.
Kevin Pierre-Louis was one of the Kansas City Chiefs free agents that hit the open market on Wednesday, and it only took a few days for the linebacker to find a multi-year deal, having signed a two-year contract with the New York Jets after his visit on Saturday.
The Jets are making a smart move here to sign a still young linebacker with plenty of proverbial tread left on the tires on the cheap. Pierre-Louis has never been given a proper chance to learn a system and start within it after playing behind some of the league’s best overall defenders (think Bobby Wagner) his first few years in Seattle. Even last year with the Chiefs, he looked so much better late in the season and then he hit free agency..
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It was that move to the Chiefs that likely opened him up for much larger amounts of attention for the rest of the NFL. Brett Veach, the Chiefs general manager, traded special teams ace D.J. Alexander, a fellow linebacker, to the Seahawks for Pierre-Louis straight up in a rare one-for-one deal. The move brought the Seahawks a young option who was under team control for one more season than KPL in Alexander. For the Chiefs, Pierre-Louis helped to stabilize the inside linebacker spot on a temporary basis.
Earlier this offseason, the Chiefs signed Anthony Hitchens to be the long-term answer at the position, but Pierre-Louis certainly helped bolster the interior core along with Reggie Ragland after years of trying to find people to play with and next to Derrick Johnson.
Pierre-Louis played in a career-high (tied) 14 games last season with the Chiefs and made 35 tackles in limited duty along with 2 passes defended. He should excel for the Jets in special teams and will likely find early rotational duty with the linebacking core with the sort of ceiling that could lead to considerable playing time.