Number one question following the trade of Tank Tyler to the Carolina Panthers: Who will be the Kansas City Chiefs back up nose tackle?
Well, we know the answer to that. Kenny Smith was signed off the street. However, Smith hasn't played in a regular season game in six years so it's hard for me to imagine he'll completely replace a guy like Tyler who recently had become a 10-15 snaps-per-game player.
Enter Ron Edwards. The 6'3", 315 pounder has been the starter for the last month but was usually given some breathers with Tank's presence. Today, head coach Todd Haley acknowledged that Edwards will need to have the endurance to play more.
"I think he’s so big sometimes those guys have a tendency to wear out a little bit," Haley said this afternoon. "He’s got to think of himself as a full-time player and not a part-time player."
Haley acknowledged Edwards was "up and down early on" but is generally pleased with where he is right now. In fact, he was given the defensive game ball against the Washington Redskins. Coincidentally (or not), Tyler's presence wasn't necessary a day later.
According to Haley, Edwards bought into the program early.
"Ron is a guy who bought in 100% starting in the off-season program," he said. "He changed his body; he’s a big boy and is still a big buy, but he lost a significant number of weight and weight he had been carrying for a long time in his career. He changed over a span of time. I think it’s starting to show and the last couple of weeks he’s been a pretty disruptive force in there."