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Kansas City Chiefs claim Austin Reiter, release Bryan Witzmann

By Jalon Dodson

LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 2: Center Austin Reiter #62 of the Cleveland Browns sits injured on the field against the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter at FedExField on October 2, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 2: Center Austin Reiter #62 of the Cleveland Browns sits injured on the field against the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter at FedExField on October 2, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Chiefs claimed OL Austin Reiter off of waivers and subsequently releasing Bryan Witzmann on Monday.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made several moves even since roster cuts were due on Saturday, most recently a further shakeup of the offensive line as they have claimed lineman Austin Reiter on waivers from the Cleveland Browns.

To make room for Reiter, the Chiefs also announced the release of Bryan Witzmann, which is a rather surprising move. The offensive guard initially made the 53-man roster and was expected to be a fairly decent backup.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach himself was the one who offered Witzmann an extension that kept him around this year. Just last season he had ascended the depth chart from back-up swing tackle and developmental lineman to starting left guard in place of Parker Ehinger, holding down the role even after Ehinger returned from a torn ACL.

Reiter entered the NFL as a seventh round choice of the Washington Redskins back in the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent that full season on the team’s practice squad and the rest of the next offseason with the team until the end of training camp when he was cut. The Cleveland Browns signed him in September, 2016 and he was their starting center by October but suffered a torn ACL, ending his season prematurely.

Reiter returned last season to play in all 16 games but failed to return to any starting role as the Browns did a nice job of replenishing their offensive line that previous offseason.

Reiter blocked for current Indianapolis Colts running back Marlon Mack at South Florida and comes with considerable experience at center. It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs have plans to try him elsewhere, but for now it seems like he’s only suited to play at center despite the loss of Witzmann in the exchange. Perhaps Jordan Devey slides over to become a primary guard back-up at this point.

Reiter is the second acquisition along the offensive line in the last 24 hours as the Chiefs also claimed Ike Boettger off of waivers from the Buffalo Bills.

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