By: James Jefferson Chiefs Focus
On Friday, general manager Brett Veach made two additions to their defensive line via free agency. First, the agency JL Sports announced via their Twitter account that they signed Byron Cowart. Cowart was a fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft by the New England Patriots. He totaled 27 tackles and one sack in 19 games played.
Cowart was released by New England after missing the entire 2021 season with an injury and then was later signed by the Indianapolis Colts before the start of training camp last year. But this was not the only deal made on Friday.
Later in the day, it was reported by Jordan Schultz of The Score that the Chiefs would re-sign defensive tackle, Phil Hoskins. Hoskins was a seventh-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He played eight games in Carolina registering six total tackles and one sack. Hoskins signed with Kansas City and joined their practice squad on January 12 and remained there all the way through the Super Bowl. Contract terms for either player have not been disclosed.
Additionally, the Chiefs are bringing back another familiar face to their offense: tight end Blake Bell. Bell missed most of the 2022 season due to hip surgery but he has made a full recovery. According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Kansas City is re-signing Bell to a one-year deal. Since entering the league in 2015, Bell has had 60 receptions for 641 yards and was part of the championship team in 2019. Last season, Bell only played in three games and accumulated two catches for 20 yards and he scored his first career touchdown. Although he is not a major threat as a receiver, he still makes a profound impact as a blocking tight end. Bell is in his eighth season in the NFL, including his 4th in Kansas City.
As far as the team making progress with signing a free-agent receiver, things have not changed as of now. When Andy Reid was asked about the discussions involving Odell Beckham Jr, he was extremely vague in giving an answer to NFL Network insider Steve Wyche: “Odell is a good football player, he does a nice job. So, we’ll see how that goes”. Based on that answer, it seems very unlikely general manager Brett Veach will pursue him.
Options for the Chiefs are few and far between at this point should they not opt to sign OBJ. Other names on the free agent market at the wide receiver position include Kenny Golladay, Randall Cobb, Chosen Anderson and Sammy Watkins. Watkins played for the Chiefs from 2018-2020 accumulating a total of 129 catches for 1,613 yards and eight touchdowns. There’s uncertainty with all of them for different reasons. Watkins and Cobb are both coming off injury-plagued seasons in 2022. Golladay is coming off nothing short of a disappointing season with the Giants which included constant trade rumors and hardly being involved in the offense. He played in 12 games but only started four accumulating six catches for 81 total yards. Would a change of scenery to Kansas City help? He has a lot of talent but it remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank.
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