Former Chiefs linebacker Damien Wilson hits open market again

A familiar face at linebacker is now a free agent once again after falling out of favor with the Carolina Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers made significant news on Friday with their trade up for the top overall pick in the draft with the Chicago Bears, but a minor transaction that also hit the wire—their release of linebacker Damien Wilson—was the interesting point of note for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Chiefs fans will recognize Wilson as a former starting linebacker in the early seasons of Steve Spagnuolo’s time as defensive coordinator, in the seasons before the linebacking corps really blossomed with high-level draft investments.

Wilson started 29 games for the Chiefs in 2019 and 2020 after signing with the team as a free agent on a two-year deal four years ago. At that time, the Chiefs were leaning on names like Reggie Ragland and Anthony Hitchens while hoping that Dorian O’Daniel might turn into something useful in the future.

For his part, Wilson did exactly what the Chiefs hoped he would as a lunchpail thumper who was dependable as a run-stopper. He ended up with 154 tackles in those 29 games with 2 forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks, and 2 passes deflected.

After he left, the Chiefs began to cycle through multiple day two picks and the second level of the defense now looks like a completely different unit with Willie Gay Jr., Nick Bolton, and Leo Chenal leading the charge.

What’s interesting here, however, is that Wilson is still a solid run-defender even after single seasons playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Panthers. Last year, he fell out of favor as the Panthers switched to a 3-4 defense, and the fit was so poor that Wilson was a healthy scratch most weeks—making only 4 defensive snaps in the final 8 games of the season.

It might be easy to write off Wilson because the Panthers didn’t use him, but scheme fit is everything and Wilson likely still has plenty in the tank—or at least it’s worth a look. For the Chiefs, they have three young linebackers leading the charge to go with Darius Harris and Jack Cochrane. That’s a very young unit, and it wouldn’t hurt the Chiefs to add a vet to the mix who could provide some leadership and dependability along the way.

Wilson has only missed three games in eight full seasons in the NFL, knows the system well, and proved to be a capable asset the first time around. If he’s ready for a mentoring role as a rotational player, he could be a worthy addition for the Chiefs once again.