Checking in on Tyler Bray and other former KC Chiefs in Week 17
By Matt Conner
From time to time, we like to check in on former Kansas City Chiefs players to see what they’re up to. It’s always our primary goal to cover the ins and outs of the Chiefs from every angle that we can, but given that we also learn to appreciate some other faces who have come and gone, it’s nice to also hear what those players are doing, especially if they’ve been able to extend their careers or have further success elsewhere (not against the Chiefs, obviously).
It’s been some time since we looked around, but Wednesday’s NFL transaction wire had some familiar faces that made us want to check in again.
Justin March-Lillard, Las Vegas Raiders
Well, that didn’t take long. The Las Vegas Raiders were quick to give Justin March-Lillard a new place to call home after his release from the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday and they announced his signing along with another linebacker addition in Kyle Wilber.
After going undrafted out of Akron back in 2015, the Chiefs gave him a chance to show what he can do as an undrafted free agent and he impressed the team’s coaching staff enough to stick through the preseason before he suffered an injury. He was stashed on IR for the year and returned the following season to even start a handful of games, a significant achievement to be sure.
From there, however, things went south after he broke his hand and lost his starting job. By the next season, he was waived entirely and the Chiefs would take a new direction at the position under Brett Veach. He earned looks from a couple teams before joining the Dallas Cowboys as a special teams ace for a couple years from 2017-2020.
The Cowboys decided to move on in 2021 and he’s been with four different teams now, including the Raiders, which might signal the end of his NFL career. Then again, he’s faced these long odds before only to find the right home. Maybe the Raiders will like what they see enough to give him a futures contract for the ’22 offseason.