Carlos Dunlap signs with Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have officially bolstered the edge rusher position with the signing of veteran defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

Free agent defensive end Carlos Dunlap has officially made his decision for where he wants to play for the ’22 season, and the Kansas City Chiefs have won out over other interested franchises. Dunlap signed a one-year deal worth up to $8 million, per NFL reporter Adam Schefter.

Dunlap visited with the Chiefs on Wednesday evening in a development that Josina Anderson described as “rapidly scheduled“. It was the third team with noted interest after he’d already spent time with the Carolina Panthers and heard from the Seattle Seahawks that they were interested in his return.

The Chiefs had major questions at defensive end in terms of overall talent and depth. Frank Clark came into came ill from the first practice of training camp, which only served to illustrate just how thin the Chiefs are on the edges. Michael Danna was next in line to be a starter with the first unit across from rookie George Karlaftis with further unproven players like Joshua Kaidoh and Malik Herring behind them.

Earlier this week, the Chiefs had already begun to address their edge concerns with the signing of Azur Kamara, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, and the invitation for Chris Odom, the USFL Defensive MVP, to work out for the team.

Dunlap will likely slide right into the role of veteran rotational rusher that Melvin Ingram held last season. Dunlap, who is now 33 years old, had 8.5 sacks for the Seahawks in ’21.