Kansas City Chiefs sign Anthony Lanier to reserve/futures contract

The Kansas City Chiefs have made their first reserve/futures contract signing for this coming offseason by bringing in Anthony Lanier.

The Kansas City Chiefs had plenty of success with one defender with a last name of Lanier, so why not try another? On Wednesday, news leaked that the Chiefs had signed defensive end Anthony Lanier to a reserve/futures deal, the first such signing by general manager Brett Veach for the 2020 offseason.

A reserve/futures contract is simply a way for a team to reach a deal with a younger player who they believe could be a contributor for the following season. Any team is allowed to sign a free agent (or someone on a practice squad) to such a deal immediately after the regular season is over. The finances, however, do not kick in until the new league year starts.

In this instance, the Chiefs have signed Lanier for the 2020 season and whatever terms they reached will not financially take effect until a new salary cap is in place. (Even then, remember that only a team’s 51 most expensive players can count against the cap.) This keeps other teams from having Lanier on a practice squad and claims him for the future. By comparison, the Chiefs also signed running back Mike Weber to the practice squad on Wednesday, which means they’re checking in on him, too, without any commitment to next season (along with a smaller financial hit).

Lanier is a 6’6, 285 defensive lineman who entered the NFL via Alabama A&M. The 26-year-old defender has been in the NFL since 2016 when he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins. In 2017, Lanier put up an impressive stat line of 10 quarterback hits, 5 sacks and 4 batted passes in 11 games in Washington. However, injuries became a significant hurdle at the end of ’17 and 2018 as well and he was waived with an injury settlement. He spent parts of ’18-19 with the L.A. Chargers but Lanier hasn’t played an official snap in two years.

Remember that Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, had to play against Lanier when he was with the New York Giants in the NFC East. It’d be interesting to know whether Spags put out any word about Lanier’s pass rushing potential to the Chiefs front office.