KC Chiefs: New fullback could spell doom for Anthony Sherman

The KC Chiefs signed fullback Aaron Ripkowski to a Futures contract. Does this signify that the Chiefs might be ready to move on from Anthony Sherman?

The fullback position in the NFL isn’t as prominent as it once was. In fact, there aren’t many fullbacks in the league anymore, due to how the game has changed. The Kansas City Chiefs have had a solid fullback on their team over the last several years, however, and recently inked another one to a Futures Contract.

That guy is former Packers fullback Aaron Ripkowski.

Ripkowski made the biggest splash (as big as a fullback can make) in the 2016 season when he totaled three touchdowns with the Packers. That was in his second year in the league and many probably thought he was on his way to “replacing” former Packer John Kuhn.

Instead, we heard less and less about Ripkowski as the weeks went on and he spent the 2018 season out of football. After a year out of the league, he’s signed a Reserve/Futures contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Before we dive any further into this topic and how it might affect Anthony Sherman‘s time as a Chief, what exactly is a Futures Contract?

Several years ago, Ty Schalter of Bleacher Report covered that very topic. Schalter wrote,

"Teams can sign players to futures contracts as soon as the previous regular season is over, but the contract won’t count against the salary cap or 53-man limit. Instead, it’ll count against the salary cap and 90-man camp limit of the following season.In the meantime, the player goes on the reserve/futures list and can’t be signed by any other team."

Fascinating stuff.

Obviously the fullback position isn’t one where there’s a lot of depth on the roster at, so did the Chiefs make this move with the expectation that they’re going to move on from Anthony Sherman this offseason?

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Sherman has been in Kansas City since 2013, as the team sent Javier Arenas to Arizona in exchange for Sherman. Since then, he’s been solid at his position, blocking for the likes of Jamaal Charles, Kareem Hunt, and recently Damien Williams.

Fullbacks’ main role is to block and create lanes for their running back to run through and Sherman did well in that job. They don’t carry the ball much, though Sherman did get occasional carries, including a nice performance against the Broncos in week 17 of the 2017 season.

Sherman has had just one rushing touchdown in his six previous seasons as a Chief, but had three receiving touchdowns. The stats aren’t really what folks should zero in on when it comes to the fullback, but with Sherman hitting free agency and sitting at 30 years old, it wouldn’t be a bad move whatsoever to move on from him.

Ripkowski is four years younger and while he spent last year out of football, he’s shown in years past that he can be a nice fullback option.

Players on Futures deals don’t always make the team, but as Matt Conner of Arrowhead Addict alluded to, Andrew Wylie made the team after being inked to a Futures deal.

This could just be a move the Chiefs made as they decide what to do with Anthony Sherman (if anything), but even if Ripkowski isn’t the answer moving forward, Sherman’s days in Kansas City could be numbered regardless.