With holes still needing to be filled on the offensive line, should the Chiefs try and sign this one player?
Hello again everyone and welcome to another week of the ArrowChop! This week is a bit different in format, but usually, this is the column where we look at the positives/negatives of a certain Chiefs/NFL issue and look at both sides of the aisle. Then you, the readers, will come to your conclusions after I lay out the case. So sit back, relax, and enjoy as we breakdown this week’s hot topic.
Free agency has blasted out of the gates faster than the horses at the Kentucky Derby. Money is being thrown all over the place, players are finding new teams to call home, and there is still a long time left before the free agency hype bites the dust. With that said, the hype around the offensive lineman free agency market has grown exponentially:
One of these linemen has just come out of the retirement home for another round of NFL action; that lineman is none other than former Bears Pro-Bowl guard Kyle Long. Long visited the Raiders yesterday, but is planning on visiting the Chiefs soon after:
If the visit goes according to plan, should the Chiefs try their hand and sign Kyle Long? Let’s break down both sides of the aisle to find out:
The Chiefs should sign Long
Firstly, the Chiefs could get him for fairly cheap. He hasn’t been in the league for two years, and his injury problems have been widely known throughout the league; however, when he played, he was a truly different animal that could bull rush through anyone on that field. The Chiefs could probably snag him for a one-year deal worth about five to six million (this is based on his last contract) with half of it guaranteed.
Secondly, if you’re worried about the Chiefs not having the money to sign him in the first place, Veach is a master and restructuring contracts and making cap room for new players. He’d just have to rework Clark’s contract to gain a little more in cap space, and then, if the visit goes well, offer him a contract.
Finally, the guard position could still be a need the Chiefs could fill. If you haven’t heard, the Chiefs have recently acquired guard Joe Thuney from the Patriots for five-years, and even though his main spot is the guard, last season he played as a tackle (according to pro football reference) and only allowed two sacks and had three penalties all season. If the Chiefs decide to keep him as a tackle or even move him to the center to keep him in the interior, then Long could still be signed.
The Chiefs shouldn’t sign Long
Firstly, as I’m writing this piece, the Chiefs just had a blockbuster signing at the guard spot. According to Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs signed former Patriots guard Joe Thuney to a five year, $80 million contract:
Just by seeing that and the fact that Tardif is still under contract, it seems as though the guard spots are filled up if Thuney stays at guard. This signing is one for the books, literally.
Secondly, Long is very injury prone, which is why he retired in the first place. In his last two seasons playing (2018-2019), he only started 12 of the possible 32 regular-season games one can play. Injuries on the offensive line were one of the key reasons why they lost Super Bowl LV, and let’s just say the Chiefs and their fans don’t need to go through that again.
Thirdly, there are still a lot better guards and lineman the Chiefs could sign over him. These include but are not limited to Trai Turner, Gabe Jackson, Trent Williams, and Russell Okung. Again, the Chiefs could rework some contracts like Clark’s, to be able to sign one of these players.
Finally, he hasn’t played in a good while. Sure, he can probably keep it up at the NFL level production-wise, but how long will that last? It could be a high-risk, high reward varying on the contract.
What do you think about Long being signed with the Chiefs? Leave a comment down below to join the discussion, and be sure to follow me on Twitter @HunterStanton8 and @ArrowheadLive. Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic day.
I pretty sure we leave Long in retirement because we sure couldn’t stand another injury to cost us another Super Bowl. Let Veach work his magic and get us Trent Williams