Day two of free agency was even busier for the Chiefs than day one, and it came with the signing of a new player and the loss of a couple.
Late this afternoon, the Chiefs made their first free agent splash of the year (besides Stanford Routt) by signing former star running back and current face of the Madden franchise, Peyton Hillis, to a one year, $3 million deal.
The Chiefs had seemingly made it a priority to sign a big back to complement the smaller speedster, Jamaal Charles, in 2012; this was made apparent by scheduling visits with both Hillis and San Diego's bowling ball, Mike Tolbert. Hillis is one year removed from a 1,000 yard rushing season that also featured 11 rushing TDs. Hillis followed it up, however, with a dismal season in 2011, part due to injury, part due to attitude. Either way, it cost him about 500 yards and a lot of potential money.
Also, it came out this offseason that Hillis, in 2011, had considered giving up football for the pursuit of joining the Central Intelligence Agency as an operative. This rumor immediately gave doubt to Hillis's mental aptitude and fortitude (although I think Hillis would have made a fantastic spy ...).
Say what you want about Hillis, but he's about 250 lbs of pure muscle and would as soon run through you as he would run around you. I like the signing a lot, and as they say, there's no such thing as a bad one year deal.
Other Moves
Chiefs former cornerback, Brandon Carr, officially signed with the Dallas Cowboys today. After releasing Terrence Newman before free agency, the Cowboys were looking to replace him quickly, and they were high on Carr. High enough, in fact, to give Carr a 5 year $50.1 million deal. Carr finally got the money he wanted, and the opportunity to be the main corner as well. And while the leaving of Carr is a significant one for the Chiefs, not just for this coming season but historically (I will talk about this in a separate post tomorrow), I wish him nothing but the best and want to thank him for some great memories in a Chiefs uniform.
Good luck BC.
The Chiefs also lost free agent full back Le'Ron McClain to the San Diego Chargers, where he signed a 3 year deal. McClain was under utilized in his one season in Kansas City, and I imagine Norv Turner can use McClain properly in an offensive system, maybe even replacing Tolbert's role of a receiving big guy. Good luck to you too McClain.
John Carlson, who was supposed to visit the Chiefs, never quite made it to Arrowhead. The tight end was convinced by Vikings personnel to not visit the Chiefs, and instead to accept their offer. Carlson decided not to leave the KCI airport, and instead to take a $25 million deal.
But when one tight end turns you down, another one schedules a visit. That tight end being Kevin Boss, who spent last season with the Oakland Raiders. Boss had 28 receptions for 368 yards and 3 TDs last season.
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