Kansas City Chiefs: Top Ten UFA Finds In Franchise History
By John Viril
Oct 27, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs mascot WarPaint is ridden on the field after a score during the game against the Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 23-17. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Number 3 UFA
Deron Cherry was invited to camp in 1981 as a punter. Cherry was initially cut, and and called back to the team due to injuries in the secondary.
Boy was that a great decision.
Cherry only went on to earn 6 consecutive pro-bowl berths from 1983 to 1988. Three times he was named to the 1st team All-pro team in his 11-year NFL career, all of them with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Not gifted with speed, Cherry compensated by being one of the smartest players in the game. He only got a chance in the starting lineup after pro-bowl free safety Gary Barbaro left after signing a big contract with the rival USFL in 1983. The Chiefs never missed Barbaro because Cherry was better.
Cherry was a turnover machine as the center-fielder in the KC Chiefs defense. He snagged 50 interceptions in his career, no. 3 in Kansas City Chiefs history and no. 26 in NFL history. Cherry is also tied with two other KC Chiefs as the franchise leader with 15 recovered fumbles. He also was a sure tackler as the last line of defense, compiling 6 100 tackle seasons in his career.
Deron Cherry also stood out off the field. In 1987, Cherry was named by Byron “Whizzer” White NFL Man of the Year due to his charity work in the community.
Deron Cherry retired after the 1991 season, and became a minority partner of the Jacksonville Jaguars ownership group. Cherry was the first African-American owner in league history.
Not bad for a guy no one wanted on draft day.
DERON CHERRY CAREER STATISTICS
| Games | Def Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | No. | G | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD |
| 1981 | 22 | KAN | 20 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||
| 1982 | 23 | KAN | 20 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 1983* | 24 | KAN | 20 | 16 | 7 | 100 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1984*+ | 25 | KAN | 20 | 16 | 7 | 140 | 0 | 67 | 0 | |||||
| 1985* | 26 | KAN | 20 | 16 | 7 | 87 | 1 | 47 | 0 | |||||
| 1986*+ | 27 | KAN | 20 | 16 | 9 | 150 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 1987* | 28 | KAN | 20 | 8 | 3 | 58 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988*+ | 29 | KAN | 20 | 16 | 7 | 51 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| 1989 | 30 | KAN | 20 | 15 | 2 | 27 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | 31 | KAN | 20 | 9 | 3 | 40 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |||||
| 1991 | 32 | KAN | 20 | 16 | 4 | 31 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 148 | 50 | 688 | 1 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 21 | 0 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/2/2015.
Next: Number 2: Jan Stenerud