A most unlikely Super Bowl hero. A Ring of Honor member who could have been even better. A Hall of Fame defense attorney? We've got a lot of stories and players to highlight as we continue our tour through Kansas City Chiefs history as we've arrived at No. 26. The history here is deep with stories, even if a true legend isn't on our list. But at least one player was trying to achieve such heights when the team decided to play contractual hardball—and lost.
The complete history of Chiefs players to wear No. 26
The Best: Gary Barbaro
The best player to ever wear No. 26 is an easy call: longtime safety Gary Barbaro. While he's already a Chiefs Hall of Famer, the truth is that the team ruined an easy chance for Barbaro to put up even better numbers.
In 1982, Barbaro was fresh off a third consecutive Pro Bowl season and had every reason to demand a pay raise. The standoff was ugly, and the USFL stepped in to offer Barbaro a new place to call home. The Donald Trump-owned New Jersey Generals made Barbaro the highest-paid defender in the league on a three-year deal, leaving Kansas City without a player who'd hauled in 39 interceptions and forced 4 fumbles in his first seven seasons. Barbaro still ranks No. 4 in career INTs, which is why he was enshrined in the team HOF in 2013.
Side note: The Chiefs turned out to be fine at safety, since young players like Deron Cherry and Lloyd Burruss were waiting in the wings to take on more responsibility at safety.
The Defense Attorney: Frank Jackson
The first to ever wear the No. 26 in Chiefs history is actually more famous for his post-football career turn as a defense attorney in Texas. He's actually inducted into the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer Association Hall of Fame. (Who knew there was such a thing?) Still before he was winning non-guilty verdicts left and right, Frank Jackson was a running back turned flanker for the Texans/Chiefs in AFL years who put up 3,745 yards from scrimmage and 31 total touchdowns in five seasons. Jackson would wrap his career in Miami before switching from offense to defense.
The Unlikely Super Bowl Hero: Damien Williams
No one saw this coming. For the majority of his career, Damien Williams was nothing more than a rotational running back who'd never produced 400 yards from scrimmage in a single season. His regular seasons with the Chiefs were not that much better, but somehow, he became an electric cog in the heart of the Chiefs' offense. Through 5 games over two postseason runs, Williams racked up an astounding 10 touchdowns and 540 yards from scrimmage—including two scores in Super Bowl LIV in a performance that could have earned him MVP.
The Impressive Replacement: Cris Dishman
The Chiefs had no reason to expect as much from Cris Dishman as he gave them. At the age of 34, the veteran corner's best days were clearly behind him, but he put together a tremendous season to help fill the void of Dale Carter's departure. Collins' final tally included 21 pass deflections, 3 fumble recoveries, and 5 interceptions, but he's most famous for his epic play in a division win over the Raiders in which he returned a Rich Gannon interception 47 yards for a touchdown and then tied the game with a 40-yard fumble return TD.
The Heisman Runner-Up: Paul Palmer
The Chiefs have drafted four running backs in the last six seasons. They drafted four in the 1987 draft alone. The first of those, Paul Palmer, taken at No. 17 overall in the first round, looked like a star-in-the-making after breaking Marcus Allen's single-season record for all-purpose yards (2,633) in his final season at Temple, a total that made him Heisman runner-up behind quarterback Vinny Testaverde. But what no one saw coming was the Nigerian Nightmare, Christian Okoye, who was taken in the second round and kept Palmer from ever making the desired impact. After two years and 1,200+ yards from scrimmage, the Chiefs waived Palmer and he was claimed by the Detroit Lions.
The Epic Fail: Stanford Routt
In 2012, the Chiefs signed former Raiders corner Stanford Routt to a three-year deal as their big free-agent signing intended to bolster Romeo Crennel's secondary. He was released just three months into the deal after getting torched again and again by opposing quarterbacks through 9 starts. His performance is largely forgotten given the overwhelmingly depressive nature of that entire 2012 season—two wins and a Jovan Belcher murder-suicide will overshadow things like that—but Routt would rank among the worst signings in Chiefs history.
The Current Holder: Kader Kohou
The Chiefs signed former Dolphins defensive back Kader Kohou to a one-year deal in free agency with the hope of adding a quality competitor at slot corner following the Trent McDuffie trade. Kohou is expected to battle with rookie Jadon Canady for reps, but he's versatile enough to slide outside if needed. Coming off major injury, he's not a roster lock by any stretch.
Et Cetera
- Deon Bush, S - A special teams regular on two Super Bowl winners who came up with a tremendous end-zone interception of Lamar Jackson in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game that helped send the Chiefs to Super Bowl LVIII.
- Le'Veon Bell, RB - Yeah, this didn't go well. Signed only to be a healthy scratch in the biggest games, and Bell later complained publicly that he was betrayed by Andy Reid. Similar late-career stops in Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and New York proved Reid right.
- Jackie Battle, RB - Undrafted short-yardage back from 2007-11 who is no relation to the next entry.
- Julian Battle, DB - 2003 third-round pick played sparingly in 26 total games over two seasons.
- Michael Bennett, RB - Spent the 2006 season as part-time back for KC before he was dealt to Tampa Bay after the first month of the '07 campaign.
- Stanford Routt, CB - P
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