With former Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard coming out of retirement, should the Chiefs sign him?
Hello again everyone and welcome to another week of the ArrowChop! 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 break down this week’s hot topic.
All athletes, even when they retire, still have an eagerness to go onto the field and work as hard as they can until they pass out (not literally). Kyle Long believed he still had some gas in the tank after retiring in early 2020; the Chiefs signed him this offseason after a visit with the organization. Following in his footsteps, a former Chief wants back into the NFL.
Bernard Pollard was a safety that played in the NFL for nine years (2006-2014) and played with the Chiefs, Titans, Texans, and Ravens; he retired due to an Achilles tendon rupture that landed him on IR. Pollard is 36 years old, and on April 2nd, it was reported that he wants to take another shot at the NFL and that he has spoken to KC about him returning to the league:
With that said, should the Chiefs sign him to the roster or should they let him walk into free agency? Let’s break down both sides of the aisle to find out:
The Chiefs should sign Pollard
This side of the aisle believes so as such:
Firstly, Pollard would add veteran leadership to this defense, which could benefit no matter what. A defense always needs its leaders, so why not have an ex-veteran take a little bit of the reigns on it. He would also be pretty cheap to sign, so the Chiefs could add him with a cheap contract due to his age and his time away from the NFL.
Secondly, it looks as though he’s healthy and is built well enough to step onto an NFL field again. Words can only describe so much, so let’s watch two of his workouts:
This man used to wreak havoc on a motherload of teams, and if it wasn’t for his horrific injury, he would’ve played longer in the league. These workouts show that he’s ready for the NFL, but how well will they translate? No matter what you think, you must wait and see.
The Chiefs shouldn’t sign Pollard
This side of the aisle believes so as such:
Firstly, the Chiefs don’t really need any safety help; well, it’s one of their last needs. They already have Mathieu starting at SS, which was Pollard’s main position, and even if he wanted to move to free safety, Thornhill is already starting and it seems as though he’s set for a breakout year. In terms of depth at safety, they already have a solid backup in Sorensen and two safeties can split the backup workload between Watts and Clemons. It would be a waste of a roster spot to sign him.
Secondly, his age is an issue. Sure, he’s healthy and is ready to perform, but then again, he’s going to be facing a different breed of athletes he hasn’t faced before. This era of football has changed; this isn’t a knock on his skill, but it’ll be tough for him to compete against these younger guys.
Plus, being out of the league for six years builds onto this as well. People can say, “well, Long has been out for about two years”, but Long is still at a good age to where he can play and if I’m not mistaken, two is less than six. Also, we don’t know how much his skills have diminished as of late. Being out of the league for a while can do that. We have absolutely no clue what he can do on the field at this moment.
What do you think the Chiefs’ should do with Pollard? 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.
