Good news for the Kansas City Chiefs: they’re going to be in the conversation for any free agent who wants to play for a contender.
On Wednesday morning, the Green Bay Packers surprised anyone who plays close attention to the game of football with the release of Mike Daniels.
On Wednesday morning, we also learned that the word “contend” is going to be synonymous with the Kansas City Chiefs for quite some time.
Daniels isn’t the real subject here, although he deserves a mention due to his release. He’s a proven pass rusher from the defensive interior who has flown under the radar for the bulk of his career. He’s made one Pro Bowl in his career, but his real credibility comes from the NFL’s Top 100 players list, of which he’s been a part for each of the last three seasons.
Basically, when it comes to being respected by his peers who play the game with him, Daniels was voted as one of the very best in recent years. Now he’s an available free agent. For our concerns, let’s pick the story up with Adam Schefter’s report and follow-up:
Mike Daniels now becomes a free agent; preference would be to sign with Super-Bowl contender. https://t.co/IGyLj7kZ77
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 24, 2019
It didn’t take long for social media to begin to begin to try to find Daniels a new home. The Chiefs were mentioned alongside the New England Patriots and other teams quickly, although K.C. doesn’t exactly have a lot of room at the position. Derrick Nnadi, Khalen Saunders, Xavier Williams, and Justin Hamilton all look set to build on their previous seasons for the Chiefs in 2019.
However this isn’t about Daniels. This is about the new reality for the Chiefs, one that began with Andy Reid’s arrival on one level, and one that will continue far into the future. When Reid arrived, the Chiefs began their winning ways and, in turn, began to draw free agents. Now that Patrick Mahomes is under center, the discussion of any free agent is going to include K.C.
Let this be a warning—in a good way!—to every member of Chiefs Kingdom. Even without a fit, KC was brought up as a destination. The reason: people wanna play for contenders and the Chiefs are now firmly entrenched in the contender category. Some day soon that’s going to be a roster fit as well.