KC Chiefs could use Billy Turner as tackle insurance

The Kansas City Chiefs could turn to free agent tackle Billy Turner if they wanted to add insurance to the roster before the draft.

As the Kansas City Chiefs continue to remake the offensive tackle position on the roster, there’s. more to think about than just an obvious starter. In the face of competition, it might serve them well to look at a familiar face on the open market in a veteran like Billy Turner.

One year after winning a Super Bowl, you’d think the idea of having to replace both offensive tackles would be a bad thing—a major roster loss of players who likely cashed in due to the championship experience under their belt. For the  Chiefs, however, they might actually upgrade both spots even after hoisting the Lombardi.

The Chiefs allowed both left tackle Orlando Brown Jr and right tackle Andrew Wylie to leave in free agency, to the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders, respectively. In doing so, the Chiefs decided to keep their Pro Bowl interior core while replacing the bookends protecting Patrick Mahomes.

In response to the losses, the Chiefs shifted their plans to focus on free agent Jawaan Taylor of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The longtime right tackle had his best season last year, and at the age of 25, there’s plenty of presumed runway left in his NFL career. For the Chiefs, Taylor will reportedly switch to the left side, which leaves an opening where Wylie used to be.

For now, it looks like Lucas Niang will be given a chance to win his old job back after being sidelined by a patellar tendon injury, and there are names like Prince Tega Wanogho or Darian Kinnard also on the roster. But it makes more sense for the Chiefs to add one more competitor—varying from solid competition to obvious starter—given the importance of the role and the rigors of a long season.

Back to Turner for a minute. He should be familiar to fans who watch the AFC West closely, although Chiefs Kingdom has reasons to largely ignore some of their rivals due to the team’s dominance in recent years. Turner was a tackle for the Denver Broncos last year in a season unfortunately limited by injury—his second stint with the team after previously playing at Mile High from 2016-18.

Instead of thinking of him as an aging vet whose body is breaking down, however, the free agent tackle insists he’s fully healthy for the first time in two years and that his knee, which has given him issues, feels great. He even stated directly in a recent interview “I am not injury prone” in an effort to be as clear as possible to potential suitors.

While Turner is saying what he has to, it’s also important to believe it could be true. Here’s the thing: Turner has incredible versatility, a quality that the Chiefs will be lacking once the season begins and the realization that there’s no Wylie to plug anywhere on the line. For Turner, however, that’s a real possibility. He’s started multiple games at left tackle, left guard, right guard, and right tackle in his career for the Broncos, Packers, and Miami Dolphins.

Turner has also profiled as a better pass blocker than run blocker and there was a reason the Packers turned to his experience and versatility in front of Aaron Rodgers when they did.

In 2021, Turner only played 13 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury and there were further knee problems when he got hit again last year, which limited him to 8 games. But he called both of those “freak” occurrences and says he’s ready to go once again. While that’s a risk, to be sure, Turner also looks like the kind of veteran depth the Chiefs are lacking at this time.

Basically, it’s possible that a player like Turner could serve as the same super-sub that Wylie was for the Chiefs for a few years while also providing some real insurance at both tackle positions—especially at right tackle where all eyes are on Niang’s rehabilitation.

It might be worth waiting until after the draft to see how things shake out in terms of roster needs and positional value, but Turner could serve as insurance either way. Right now, the position is still being remade and it’s hard to tell who will shake out as the final pieces both in the starting lineup and on the bench, but at least there’s some potential versatile help still to be had on the open market.