What Potential Free Agents Could Sign with the Kansas City Chiefs

Unfortunately the NFL season has come to an end for the Kansas City Chiefs so it’s time to look at who can be added to the 2022 squad to make this team better.

There is always the factor of salary cap when it comes to adding free agents. The Chiefs money guys and Brett Veach are going to have to find a way to shift money around and make some room for new guys and old guys. The current cap situation in Kansas City is below the average line which means there will be plenty of moves coming whether we like it or not. This year free agency starts on March 16. With a number of players leaving the team, we look at some names the Chiefs could sign during the offseason.

Charles Harris – Edge/Defensive End

A name that local Chiefs and Missouri football fans may recognized immediately is defensive end Charles Harris

At the age of 26, Charles Harris will be entering his sixth year in the NFL. Having spent time with Miami, Atlanta, and Detroit, Harris could be looking for a new place to call home and settling into his home state in Missouri may be just the place for him. Having played high school football just seven miles down the road, Arrowhead stadium would put him right in his backyard.

Charles Harris was a two star defensive end coming out of high school when he committed to play at the University of Missouri. He spent three years for the Tigers playing along the defensive line. During that time he accumulated one hundred thirty six tackles, thirty four tackles for loss, eighteen sacks, and five forced fumbles. Deciding to leave college a year early for the 2017 NFL Draft, Charles Harris was selected twenty second overall in the first round by the Miami Dolphins.

Spending three years in Miami, Harris’ numbers didn’t live up to the draft capital. His stat line only accounted for three and a half sacks and forcing ten tackles for loss. The Dolphins felt that moving on from Harris was the route to take and decided to trade him to Atlanta for a seventh round pick in 2021. Playing the final year of his rookie contract for the Falcons, Harris saw his knowledge of the game start to grow. Playing in just thirteen games, he nearly matched his sack total of his first three seasons in Miami with three while his tackles for loss were still trying to catch up.

Moving on to the 2021 season, Atlanta chose to decline his option which sent him to free agency for the first time. He then chose to continue his career in Detroit where you can say things started to come together for the former Mizzou Tiger. Playing in all regular season games for the second time in his career, Harris doubled his career numbers in just one season finishing with seven and a half sacks, sixty five total tackles, ten tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.

Charles Harris is a football player who started his playing days in Missouri and seeing him back in the state playing for the Chiefs is something that is very likely. He is finally starting to find his place in the NFL world and living up to the hype that was around him when entering the league back in 2017. He would be a cheaper bargain being that he is still trying to prove himself but will the Chiefs give him the opportunity to come home?

Rasul Douglas – Cornerback

After an impressive season with the Packers, cornerback Rasul Douglas may be a hot name this offseason.

Rasul Douglas has quite the backstory and getting to where he is now shows the type of player he is. Having made pit stops at five different locations, Douglas has now made a name for himself and may very well get himself a hard earned payday. Drafted in the third round by the Philadelphia Eagles, Douglas could give the Chiefs another dominant cornerback across from L’Jarius Sneed.

Douglas began his football career in East Orange, New Jersey before he went on to play his first college ball at Nassau Community College recording eighty four tackles (seven and a half for loss), eighteen pass break ups, five interceptions, and two forced fumbles. Three years into his career with the Lions, Douglas became a highly sought after four star recruit in the transfer market and made the move to sign with West Virginia University in 2015.

Spending two years with the Mountaineers, Douglas became a high profile prospect for NFL scouts after a breakthrough senior season. During his 2016 season, Douglas lit up the stat sheet with seventy total tackles, eight interceptions, eight pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and made one fifty four yard house call in a week three match up against BYU. After helping his team to a 10-3 season, Douglas declared for the 2017 NFL draft.

Selected with the ninety ninth overall pick in the third round, Rasul Douglas began his professional career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Three years into his rookie contract, Douglas was waived by the Eagles after a productive start to his career collecting five interceptions and twenty five pass deflections among other serviceable stats.

Finishing out the final year of his rookie contract, he was picked up by the Carolina Panthers where he spent his 2020 season appearing in fourteen games. Post Carolina season is a series of stents with multiple teams including the Raiders, Texans, and Cardinals practice squad before finally being signed to the Green Bay Packers active roster.

Rasul Douglas got to Green Bay and flipped the switch once again becoming a known name across the NFL. Eventually earning a starting role on the Packer defense, Douglas played in twelve games recording five interceptions, thirteen pass deflections, fifty seven tackles, and one forced fumble. Two of Douglas’ interceptions were returned for touchdowns against the L. A. Rams and the Chicago Bears.

Rasul Douglas is a twenty seven year old 6’ 2′ ‘ 209 lbs. cornerback and a solid fit for Steve Spagnuolos’ defense. The asking price may be high after a stellar season in Green Bay but if he chooses to move onto a new team and the price is right, there’s no reason K. C. shouldn’t take a look at him.

DJ Chark – Wide Receiver

We all know adding weapons for Patrick Mahomes is a priority every offseason which is why wide receiver DJ Chark would be a good fit for the Chiefs.

Twenty five year old DJ Chark will be entering his fifth year in the NFL and hitting free agency for the first time in his career. In four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chark has played in four three games being inactive for nine. His 2021 season was cut short due to an ankle injury during week four matchup with the Bengals that put him on Injured Reserve.

Coming out of Alexandria, Louisiana, DJ Chark was a three star recruit who committed to play college football at Louisiana State University. During his four year stint with the Tigers, Chark did not receive bulk playing time until his junior and senior seasons. Chark was used in a multitude of ways at LSU putting up over eighteen hundred all purpose yards including sixty six receptions, twenty five rushing attempts, and twelve touchdowns. Following the conclusion of his senior season, Chark entered the 2018 NFL Draft where he was selected in the second round (61st Overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Entering his rookie season with the Jags, Chark took a back seat to players like Dede Westbrook and Donte Moncrief keeping him off the field. He only managed to be on the end of fourteen receptions while making the transition to NFL speeds. Moving into his sophomore season with the Jags, Chark exploded onto the scene eclipsing the one thousand receiving mark for the first time in his career while hauling in eight receiving touchdowns (Tied for 9th most). His 2019 campaign awarded Chark with Pro Bowl honors.

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Jumping to the 2020 season, Chark was the victim of suspect quarterback play and the bad coaching. His numbers began to dip below expectations and he slowly faded to background noise which carried over into the 2021 season with Jacksonville. Charks potential final season with the Jaguars may have ended with just as much playing time as his first season. Chark was sidelined just four games in with a fractured ankle. Overall Chark has put up over two thousand receiving yards and fifteen touchdowns on ninety two receptions.

DJ Chark is an exceptionally talented wide receiver who has gotten thrown to the side due to his landing spot out of college. His playing history and tape speaks for itself as his 6’ 4” 200 lbs. frame matched with his sub 4.4 forty time pairs well with what the Chiefs could be looking for in complimentary pass catcher to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Coming off an injury there will always be question marks whether a player will bounce back but his asking price should be low and playing with the best quarterback in the league after time in Jacksonville could be exactly what the doctor orders.

Other potential player the Chiefs could pursue during the offseason

Wide Receivers:

• Juju Smith Schuster: Five year player out of Pittsburg coming off a season ending shoulder injury. Has already been rumored to want to come to Kansas City.
• Christian Kirk: Four year player coming out of Arizona. Saw an uptick in targets with DeAndre Hopkins being out. Likely to return back to the Cardinals.
• James Washington: Four year player out of Pittsburg. Was pushed down the depth chart in favor of others. Never had a real opportunity to shine.
• Michael Gallup: Four year player out of Dallas. Will be coming back from a torn ACL during the 2021 season. Was a productive wide receiver behind Lamb and Cooper.
• Allen Robinson: Eight year player out of Chicago. Has dealt with poor quarterback play his entire career with a chance to finally pick his destination. Expensive.

Defensive End/Edge:

• Lorenzo Carter: Four year player out of New York (Giants). Finished the 2021 season with five sacks in four games.
• Derek Barnett: Five year player out of Philadelphia. Has twenty one and a half sacks over his career.
• Arden Key: Four year player out of San Francisco. Drafted and cut by the Raiders after three seasons. Broke out during the 2021 season with the 49ers with six and a half sacks.
• Dorance Armstrong: Four year player out of Dallas. Played in the shadow of Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence. Has seven and a half career sacks.

Safety:

• Terrell Edmunds: Fourth year player out of Pittsburg. Athletic and speedy thumper who may be looking to relocate. Has five career interceptions.
• Justin Reid: Fourth year player out of Houston. Versatile safety who could be looking away from Texans. Has seven career interceptions.

There are a number of players to choose from in this year’s free agency class. Choosing exactly which ones the Chiefs will go after is like finding a needle in a haystack. It has been noted that the Chiefs will be looking to prioritize the defensive side of the ball, keying mostly along the front with defensive ends and tackles. A common theme among this bunch comes from players of the 2017 or 2018 NFL Draft. All fairly young in their careers could be looking for multi year deals or coming into a prove it season.

As outsiders looking in we can only wait for rumors to come out about players the Chiefs have made contact with over the course of the offseason. Salary numbers and the cap will be a big part of who they sign, as they have some important acquisitions to make this year in what could be a major building block for the next few years in Kansas City.