KC Chiefs take strange flyer on wide receiver Corey Coleman

The Kansas City Chiefs announced a couple of new signings on Tuesday in free agency and both of them are on flyers at various positions, However, no one is quite the longshot that wide receiver Corey Coleman represents as a former first-round pick who hasn’t played in the National Football League in years.

Coleman is an intriguing name for the Chiefs to bring up at this stage knowing he was widely available for the majority of the 2021 season as a free agent. He was suspended for the first six games of 2021, but the Chiefs could have easily signed him then and let him serve his time to get a closer look if they were interested. That’s especially true given the need at wide receiver all season for K.C.

The Cleveland Browns were the first team to ind                                                                                                                                                                           vest anything in Coleman when they sunk a first-round choice on the Baylor product back in 2016. He finished his rookie campaign with 33 catches for 413 yards and 3 touchdowns in 10 starts that year. Unfortunately Coleman also dealt with injuries early in his career including breaking the same hand in both 2016 and 2018, limiting him to 19 total games in those two years combined.

The Kansas City Chiefs have decided to take a strange flyer on Corey Coleman at wide receiver.

From there, he would demand a trade from the Browns and the Buffalo Bills obliged but they cut him before active rosters were due. The New England Patriots entered the picture but he only lingered on the practice squad here and there before finding his way to the New York Giants.

Coleman got a cup of coffee with the Giants late in 2018 and that was enough for them to bring him back in ’19 only to see him tear an ACL. With another season lost, the Giants brought him back for 2020 but he only hung around on the practice squad. Those few games for New York were the last games he’d play in the NFL—that is, until now.

The Chiefs are likely enamored with Coleman’s speed, which makes sense given his track background. Coleman, who is still only 27 years old, also has experience returning kicks, so there might be a special teams dimension here as well.

In Coleman’s last season in the NFL, he had 5 catches for 71 total yards in 8 starts for the Giants.