The Kansas City Chiefs are still alive in the Bashaud Breeland sweepstakes

For those who’d hoped for the Kansas City Chiefs would sign Bashaud Breeland, there’s still reason to hope that something can come together.

If you missed the last 24 hours of Twitter as a Kansas City Chiefs fan, you missed a subset of passionate fans making it clear they were checking quite often to hear for any news of a potential signing of free agent cornerback Bashaud Breeland. Unfortunately, the news finally broke late on Wednesday evening when Field Yates stated that Breeland had left Kansas City and was on to his next free agent stop.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, Breeland, a free agent cornerback who is only 26-years-old, spent time getting to know the Chiefs players, coaches and front office executives. During Wednesday’s practice session at training camp, fans saw Breeland laughing with Tim Terry, leaning on Bob Sutton and generally having a good time. It seemed like something was in the works given the camaraderie as well as the amount of time he was spending in St. Joseph.

At this point, Breeland is now gone, however, and all fan expectations must be reset. This is the second potential move at cornerback that came with considerable interest and rumors linked to the Chiefs only to pass by without anything happening. Earlier in July, the NFL’s Supplemental Draft seemed ideally suited for the Chiefs needs, and they were often listed as a potential favorite to land Adonis Alexander or Sam Beal. Instead, the Chiefs kept all of their picks as the Washington Redskins and New York Giants selected those players instead.

Breeland came to K.C. after a visit with the Oakland Raiders. The other two teams reportedly scheduled on this same free agent tour include the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns. Both of these final teams are ran by former Chiefs executives—Chris Ballard in Indy, John Dorsey in Cleveland—so it will be interesting to see how hot the pursuit of Breeland will be by either team knowing their former team is that interested.

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From Breeland’s perspective, it’s gotta come down to money. This offseason, Breeland finally hit free agency like every player dreams of reaching. He started 58 games during his rookie contract and proved himself worthy of a major payday. The Carolina Panthers were ready to reward him for his efforts until they discovered an infected cut on his foot that would require further medical attention. The Panthers took back their 3-year, $24 million deal and suddenly Breeland found himself a free agent once again.

Now Breeland is healthy or at least healthy enough to work out for teams and take these visits. Given how hard he’s worked to this point, it’s likely imperative for him to be wined and dined by anyone willing to take him out in the hopes of matching that previous deal—or at least getting as close to it as he can. For the Chiefs that’s a hard sell given the financial commitments they’ve already made and the fact that plenty of extensions are in the coming soon stack on Brett Veach’s desk.

If the Browns or Colts fail to put on the full court press (wrong sport, I know), it’s possible the Chiefs could hang in there and still secure the cornerback help they desire. Breeland is already familiar with his potential Chiefs teammates in David Amerson and Kendall Fuller after playing next to them in Washington. He’d also likely enjoy playing next to Eric Berry and for Andy Reid. But for a young player who has worked hard for that big payday, it’s hard to fault a man for searching long and hard for the team willing to be the highest bidder.

Still the game is not over. The Chiefs, Raiders, Browns and Colts all have reason to hope they can be the team who signs Breeland in the end—one of the best remaining free agents left on the market.

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