Kansas City Chiefs: Assessing 2019 Offseason

Bad Move: Not Addressing Cornerback

This move is actually a lack of a move. For the most part view, the Chiefs offseason could be looked at as a big success. This is the one part that made me scratch my head a bit, and my hope is that Veach isn’t done trying to add talent here.

There are definitely some signs supporting that idea, as well. It isn’t that Veach didn’t try to bring in corner talent, it’s just that it all fell apart.

The Chiefs had free agent visits with both Ronald Darby and Darqueze Dennard. Neither player offers a star in the secondary, but would have been solid upgrades to the talent already on the roster. Both players left Kansas City without a contract, choosing to instead sign with their respective teams from the year before (Dennard to the Bengals and Darby to the Eagles).

Another intriguing prospect on the free agent market was former Pro-Bowl corner Jason Verrett. If his name sounds familiar, that is because he last appeared for the Chargers in 2016. The question with Verrett is health, because he went down in both 2017 and 2018 with season ending injuries.

He appeared in just one game (week one in 2017) over that stretch, and was somewhat of a mystery in this free agency period. If Verrett could return to even somewhere close to his old form before the injuries, he may have been the most talented corner on the Chiefs roster.

The frustrating thing was the stars were seemingly aligning for the Chiefs to sign him on the cheap. He was just the kind of low risk/high reward signing that had the potential to boost a team to a Super Bowl. The problem was Varrett never made it to Kansas City. The Chiefs had a meeting planned with Varrett, but he would first take a visit with the San Francisco 49ers. He never left the Bay Area.

The Chiefs did sign Bashaud Breeland this offseason, but with the loss of Steven Nelson to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City is still painfully thin at the corner spot. With no real free agent upgrades available, Veach will have to get creative to improve this portion of the roster.

One option is obviously exploring a trade for an established veteran. Another could be waiting until cut down days and poach someone who may be a surprise free agent. The Packers recently cut defensive lineman Mike Daniels, which was a shock to some in league circles.

Something similar to this could happen with a player like Josh Norman to save cap money. Don’t expect the Chiefs to stand pat here. I have a feeling this group will look different going into the week one showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars.