Kansas City Chiefs add journeyman cornerback Michael Hunter

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to churn through options for cornerback depth. Their latest signing is journeyman defensive back Michael Hunter.

Cornerback remains a position of concern for the Kansas City Chiefs, and that’s unlikely to change with the addition of the team’s latest signing, journeyman defensive back Michael Hunter. General manager Brett Veach signed Hunter to the roster on Wednesday.

Hunter joins a depth chart that’s in flux with the recent injury to Keith Reaser and the shifting of positions for Tremon Smith. Reaser went down with a torn Achilles tendon earlier in training camp after an impressive turn in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football. It’s the second consecutive season-ending injury for Reaser, who was released by the Chiefs last year with an injury settlement after another preseason injury.

As for Tremon Smith, word from camp on Wednesday is that the Chiefs have decided to switch positions entirely for the returner—from cornerback to running back. The shift is surprising not because Smith was going to be a significant asset in the secondary, but it still removes a name from the depth chart and complicates the picture in the team’s backfield a bit—a position that’s already crowded with Damien Williams, Darrel Williams, Carlos Hyde, and Darwin Thompson.

The addition of Hunter brings a new body for the Chiefs to check out in camp next to other fringe roster hopefuls like Dakari Monroe, Andrew Soroh, Herb Miller, Rashad Fenton and Mark Fields. Perhaps the Chiefs are just hoping for someone—anyone!—to stand out from the pack and Hunter becomes another face at the position grasping for straws. It makes sense for the team to bring in someone given the absence of Reaser and now Smith. That said, the lack of top-end talent on a Super Bowl roster remains a major concern.

Hunter has spent time with the New York Giants, Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans before signing with the Chiefs.