KC Chiefs news roundup: Tajae Sharpe, Patrick Omameh find new teams
By Matt Conner
It’s been a busy week on the transaction wire for several former Kansas City Chiefs players, but fortunately some of them have already been able to find new homes. It can be tough keeping up with all the comings and goings of familiar faces, but we’ve got a few updates for you here.
First, wide receiver Tajae Sharpe, who was released by the Chiefs one week ago, has found a new home with the Atlanta Falcons. The arrival of Sharpe certainly doesn’t portend anything meaningful concerning a more well-known player at the same position for the Falcons, but it’s good to see Sharpe getting another chance to head into training camp nonetheless.
Sharpe originally signed with the Chiefs this offseason hoping to make the team as a veteran addition in the wake of losing options like Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson in free agency. Instead the Chiefs brought back D-Rob, signed Chris Finke and others, and drafted Cornell Powell, which meant Sharpe had been crowded out.
Elsewhere, the Las Vegas Raiders liked what they saw from Patrick Omameh enough to bring him back for another season after a short stint last year. Omameh appeared in six games for the Raiders, but he also played a single game for the Chiefs in a year in which the entire offensive line was suffering from injuries. Omameh has been around the league for quite some time as a journeyman lineman who has also played for the Giants, Saints, Jaguars and more.
Here’s a look at what’s happening with a few former Chiefs around the NFL.
Not everyone has been able to find a new place to play, at least yet, as former Chiefs cornerback KeiVarae Russell was waived by the Green Bay Packers on Monday after spending last season on the team’s practice squad. The former third round pick of the Chiefs back in the 2016 NFL Draft has struggled to find a home in any defense since arriving in the league but he’s managed to hold on this long to fringe roles on teams like Green Bay and Cincinnati. At this point it’s possible he’s out of chances.
When it came to his tenure with the Chiefs, you might remember that Russell didn’t even make it to the regular season with K.C. Instead, the team decided to waive their third round pick from the spring as quickly as possible in what was one of the most surprising roster moves of the last decade for the team. It would be as if the Chiefs were going to waive Creed Humphrey or Joshua Kaindoh in the next few months. Still it’s not as if any other team has been able to turn Russell into a productive player. Somehow that draft asset just depreciated faster than most.