Kansas City Chiefs sign prospects to reserve/futures contracts
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs have begun to put together their reserve/futures signings. Stay here for a complete, updated list on all such players.
Every January, every franchise in the National Football League begins to put together a string of signings under the banner of reserve/futures deals. It’s a way for teams to secure players immediately after the season who they believe will be able to impact their short-term future.
Futures contracts work like any other contract in the NFL. Teams can extend any amount of money or time commitment to any player not currently on an active roster as of Week 17. That includes any player on a practice squad or unrestricted free agent. The only catch for a futures deal is that it doesn’t count against the salary cap or roster limit cap until the new league year (which comes every March).
In March, NFL rosters expand to 90 players overall as teams prepare for offseason training activities and then training camp and preseason games. Many of those will be filled by draft picks, rookie free agent and veteran free agent signings, but some teams can start to fill those spots with players they think could blossom the next season who were not attached to a team the year before. Often a team will poach a prospect from another team’s practice squad at this time of year (or teams will secure guys they really want on the active roster before Week 17).
Last winter, the Chiefs signed 10 players to futures contracts, and two of them went on to make the regular season roster: wide receiver Gehrig Dieter and offensive lineman Andrew Wylie, who was named the team’s rookie of the year.
Here’s a list of all Chiefs futures signings for 2019 (we will keep this post updated with the latest).
The Chiefs’ first futures signee for the 2019 roster was Cavon Walker. Walker played his college ball at Maryland and signed with the Chicago Bears after going undrafted just last spring. He came to college as a 6’2, 230 lb. linebacker but gained nearly 50 pounds during his collegiate career to come out a 280 lb. defensive end. Broke into the Terps’ starting lineup during his last two seasons and posted 15 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. You can read a bit more about his skill set here.
Passionate NFL fans will likely recognize Spaight as a veteran linebacker who has been with the Washington Redskins since the 2015 season. Even as recently as 2017, Spaight played in 15 games and made 6 starts for the Hogs, totaling 68 tackles (4 for a loss), 2 passes defended, and 1 fumble recovery. In 2018, Washington released him but Spaight found work with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins in limited stints. Now the Chiefs can add him to the mix at linebacker this offseason to allow him to compete in the middle.