Former Chiefs cornerback KeiVarae Russell lands on Chargers practice squad

The career of cornerback KeiVarae Russell will continue on with the Los Angeles Chargers after signing on the team’s practice squad.

One of the bigger draft mysteries for the Kansas City Chiefs in recent years is the latest signing to the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad with word that the team had signed cornerback KeiVarae Russell.

Russell entered the National Football League as a third-round selection by then-general manager John Dorsey with the Chiefs. Russell was a talented corner out of Notre Dame who was expected to help answer some long-term talent concerns with Kansas City. Unfortunately he never even played a single game with the team before being released in early September.

The word at the time was that Russell was simply slow to pick up Bob Sutton’s defensive schemes and that he’d been passed over by other players. Still to give up so early on a third round investment is a rarity and it always felt as if something more was going on. Yet Chiefs fans would never find out and the Cincinnati Bengals were quick to pounce on Russell on waivers.

Clearly the Chiefs knew something because Russell never did work out even in Cincy after a few years. Russell played in 20 games for the Bengals, making a single start, and had a total of 20 tackles and 1 interception to his credit.

For the Chargers, the signing of Russell gives them a late addition on the practice squad to check out before making bigger decisions about which players to carry into the postseason. The Chargers season is all but done, but if they can find a diamond in the rough in the secondary, it’s worth the effort to bring him and other young players in who could benefit from a coaching change.