Former KC Chiefs center Austin Reiter should have a home by now

Austin Reiter was the starting center for a team that went to the Super Bowl in each of the last two seasons. Now on the verge of a new NFL season, Reiter is somehow still searching for employment.

Heading into the offseason, after a frustrating loss in Super Bowl LV to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chiefs decided to completely rebuild the offensive line after watching a unit decimated by injuries completely collapse on the biggest stage. Part of the rebuild included signing free agent center Austin Blythe away from the L.A. Rams and then drafted Creed Humphrey in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

While everyone in Chiefs Kingdom is grateful for the obvious upgrade at the position (along with most every other offensive line spot), most Chiefs fans would also agree that Reiter was a solid find for Brett Veach and decent starter for the last two years. It seems quite odd that Reiter is still available in the free agent market.

For the Chiefs, the upgrade is obviously helpful in their goal of winning a Super Bowl. The team clearly missed the level of play provided by Mitch Morse when healthy and Rodney Hudson before that. However, that doesn’t mean that Reiter is without value somehow. In fact, he’s being ridiculously undervalued on the open market right now.

Former K.C. Chiefs center Austin Reiter should be gainfully employed.

Now it’s very possible that Reiter is playing the market differently than we might expect, which renders this entire column moot. It’s possible that Reiter is quite comfortable waiting for more money or the right team or a later date. All three would mean he’s commanding the market instead of the other way around. If that’s the case, more power to him. A man is free to do what he wants, and if he only wants to play for a certain amount of time or money, then go for it.

But the NFL jokingly represents the phrase “Not For Long” for good reason. Most players of Reiter’s ilk are hoping to extend their careers one year at a time, typically catching on with successive one-year contracts if they’re lucky. That’s not a slam of any kind. It’s the business nature of the NFL to reward elite players with hefty contracts while the rest are afforded very little security (e.g. the Chiefs bringing back Bashaud Breeland on one-year deals year after year).

So we have better reason to believe Reiter wants to keep playing at this point yet, for reasons unbeknownst to us, he remains available.

For the sake of review, let’s recall that Reiter has a history of latching on with a new team and then impressing the coaching staff enough to earn significant trust and playing time. The Cleveland Browns signed Reiter, a former 7th round pick of Washington’s, in 2018 and he was starting by early October. Unfortunately he was injured in that very game and fell back down the depth chart (and was ultimately lost in the team’s plans).

The Chiefs claimed him the following summer when Reiter was waived and had earned a two-year extension by season’s end. From there, Reiter went on to be the Chiefs’ starting center for the majority of each of the last two seasons. Again, no one was honoring him with a Pro Bowl appearance, but Reiter is a solid pass blocker and comes with championship experience.

Let’s take a look at the teams that would make the most sense for Reiter at this point.