The Kansas City Chiefs have added some tight end depth with the signing of free agent Blake Bell to a contract.
The Kansas City Chiefs have added some much needed competition and depth to a barren tight end position on the depth chart with the signing of veteran Blake Bell, per Jacob Albracht of KWCH.
Bell comes to the Chiefs with plenty of experience with a few teams as a journeyman tight end since entering the league as the fourth round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2015 NFL Draft. Bell played in 27 total games over the course of two years in San Fran before being waived by a new regime in John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan.
From there, Bell was claimed on waivers by the Minnesota Vikings where he make 3 starts and played in 13 total games. Last season, Bell played alongside former Chiefs tight end James O’Shaughnessy with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In his career, Bell has caught 30 passes for 357 yards.
Bell is a converted college quarterback at 6’6, 250 pounds, so even though he has years of experience, he’s likely still learning the nuances of the position.
Until now, the Chiefs only had All-Pro Travis Kelce as a tight end with any real experience on the roster. It is nice, of course, to have the NFL’s best player at a particular position, but the loss of backup tight end Demetrius Harris to the Cleveland Browns in free agency created a vacuum behind Kelce on the depth chart.
Bell will compete with any further imports via the draft or free agency along with holdover prospects Deon Yelder and David Wells, both of whom were with the team during the 2018 season.