Kansas City has been slow to enter the free agency fold coming off the franchise’s Super Bowl LIV Championship, but that hasn’t always been the case – when has the team swung for the fences, only to come up very…very short?
Thus far, the Kansas City Chiefs have been silent spectators during the NFL’s free agent frenzy in 2020, choosing to primarily bring back a number of their own free agents while seemingly every other team doles out big bucks in the hopes of improving their roster enough to keep K.C. from defending as Super Bowl champs.
Earlier this offseason, we looked at the Chiefs previous participation in free agency over the years and asked about the top five signings ever in franchise history. This time, we thought we’d take a look at the worst signings ever. Let’s start our countdown with a linebacker who never lived up to expectations.
5.) Demorrio Williams
During the offseason after the 2007 season, the Kansas City Chiefs swung big for a free agent linebacker from the Atlanta Falcons named Demorrio Williams. The Chiefs were able to ink the 27-year-old, three-year starter to a five-year contract. Fans rejoiced as they believed that they’d found a legitimate presence to pair with Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson to form a strong linebacking corps.
Unfortunately, what they got was five years which featured only 25 starts and well under 300 tackles from the coveted linebacker who was presumptively in his prime when he got to K.C.
In a more modern NFL, Williams likely would have been cut after year three. Unfortunately, the Chiefs were stuck with him on the roster and he continued to take up space, money and make little impact.