The Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs will host free agent cornerback Bashaud Breeland on consecutive visits early next week.
Free agent cornerback Bashaud Breeland will be taking his latest free agent visits to the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, per Rob Demovsky.
Cornerback Bashaud Breeland is visiting the Raiders on Sunday and Monday then headed to the Chiefs on Tuesday, a source said. He’s the one who signed a three-year, $24 million deal with the Panthers that was voided after he failed a physical. He’s healthy and ready to go.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) July 21, 2018
Breeland, formerly of the Washington Redskins, has been a popular name floated by fans and analysts alike for the Chiefs to add to a secondary who looks like they could use a proven performer in the secondary to round out the cornerback position. Earlier this offseason, Bleacher Report’s Justis Mosqueda named the Chiefs as the best destination for Breeland in free agency, and we’ve believed the same for some time here.
Earlier this offseason, Breeland reached a nice new deal with the Carolina Panthers for a 3-year, $24 million contract with $11 million guaranteed. It was, however, nullfied when he could not pass his physical after getting an infection in his foot when he’d cut it on vacation in the Dominican Republic. It seems a bit odd that the Panthers would just not wait for it to heal, but that’s the story told around the league. Breeland has remained a free agent ever since despite visits to the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals earlier this offseason.
The Chiefs will have to decide how much they want to roll into training camp with so many unproven or younger performers. Those guys could certainly blossom, but the Chiefs rolled the dice last year as well at the position opposite Marcus Peters and now they don’t even have him.
Breeland would be a major boost to any secondary after showing such a strong performance for the duration of his rookie deal. He has 8 career interceptions in 58 career starts, 7 forced fumbles and a sack. He’s also got plenty of experience playing next to Kendall Fuller in the secondary, who the Chiefs acquired back in January in the Alex Smith trade.
Most importantly for the Chiefs will be making sure Breeland visits and that he doesn’t sign on the spot with the Oakland Raiders. It will be interesting to see how things play out early next week as Breeland begins his short free agent tour.