Chiefs Announce Roster Moves from The Mothership
"This is always a difficult time of year," Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said. "We have to make decisions that we feel are in the best interest of our football team and unfortunately this is part of the process. These gentlemen have put in a lot of hard work and effort for our franchise, and we wish them nothing but the best moving forward."
The league's final roster cutdown to 53 players must take place before 5 p.m. CT on Aug. 31. The following players have been released by the club:
It Hasn't Been Smooth Road For Chiefs QB Alex Smith from KC Star
Smith is only 29 but he has already seen so much. He has worked through the guilt and anger and depression of his best friend's suicide. He's been the NFL's No. 1 overall draft pick, and he's been benched. He is a model philanthropist. He's been booed, cheered, paid, left out and traded.
He is a husband. A father. Smart enough to earn an economics degree in 21/2 years. Just 20 when a directionless San Francisco 49ers organization drafted him, Smith last year suffered a concussion just as his career got going. He watched his 49ers teammates play in the Super Bowl from the sideline, in a baseball hat, his dream falling 5 yards short on someone else's shoulders. Maybe he'll get over that someday.
"Is part of me still pissed?" Smith says. "I guess. I don't know. Yeah, because you're pissed how you got treated, how it all went down. But I felt like I made my peace."
Chiefs Trying To Regain Balance On Offense from KC Star
Despite the imbalance in the offense, Reid was pleased with the performance of the offensive line, which lost right guard Jon Asamoah because of a calf injury early in the game. That pressed veteran backup Geoff Schwartz into double duty.
Schwartz played right guard with the starters in the first half and right tackle with the reserves in the second half. He participated in 71 of the Chiefs' 77 offensive snaps.
"I thought overall the offensive line did a nice job, from the first and the second group of protecting ... and played good physical football," Reid said. "Geoff played well in those positions. It was good to get (backup left tackle) Donald Stephenson back in there. I thought he did a nice job, too. I appreciated their effort, and I thought they improved."
Chiefs' Fisher Showed He Could Play With Best At Senior Bowl from KC Star
The moment of truth for Eric Fisher came the minute he stepped onto the practice field last January at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Sure, Fisher had been a great offensive lineman at Central Michigan, where he dominated players from schools such as Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan.
Now, he would have to block pass rushers from the big schools, players who would get drafted and play in the NFL. And nothing changed. Fisher was again dominant, and in doing so answered the last remaining questions about his ability.
That's when Fisher, in a draft short on stars at quarterback, pass rusher and other glamour positions, established himself as a serious contender to be the No. 1 overall pick.
Long Broadcasting Career Has Made Len Dawson A Celebrity Off The Field from KC Star
Linebacker Bobby Bell worked at the GM plant. Emmitt Thomas taught school. Dawson tried his hand at selling insurance.
"I was not very good at it," Dawson says now, 50 years after arriving in Kansas City.
But in 1966, Dawson's fourth season in Kansas City, he found a career in broadcasting that eventually made him as big a celebrity off the field as he was as a Hall of Fame passer and Super Bowl champion.
Joe Montana Brought Something Special To The Chiefs from KC Star
It was just one game in a Hall of Fame career that saw Montana lead the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl titles, receive three Super Bowl MVP awards, two league MVP awards and become arguably the greatest quarterback to play the game.
But that dank, bone-chilling January day in Buffalo still haunts Montana whenever he's asked about the two magical seasons he spent with the Chiefs.
"We had an opportunity and blew it," he said matter-of-factly, referring to the Chiefs' 30-13 loss at Buffalo in the 1993 AFC championship game. "We actually blew it twice ... the (second-to-) last regular-season game made us have to go to Buffalo instead of playing at home. That probably hurt us more than anything."
Joe Namath Brought Glamour To The Quarterback Position from KC Star
The television contract enabled the Jets to sign Namath, the league's brightest star.
"It gave us an identity," said Len Dawson, the Chiefs' Hall of Fame quarterback. "All of a sudden, we weren't the stepchild of professional football. We have the top star coming out of college football into the American Football League. That was a terrific boost. Look at all the publicity he received."
"He really saved the whole AFL," said Chiefs Hall of Fame cornerback Emmitt Thomas. "If Namath had gone to the NFL, I don't think it would have blossomed or grown the way it did."
To Namath, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
Inside The Huddle: Life As A Quarterback from KC Star
"Only a handful of people in the world can really, truly say they understand it," said Chase Daniel, the Chiefs' No. 2 quarterback.
It's almost incalculable how much the mental aspect means to an NFL quarterback, who within a span of seconds is absorbing and interpreting massive and shifting data and is adjusting all the while with gridiron gridlock not an option.
"If while you're walking up to the line you're paralyzed, that's not good stuff," said Daniel, in his first year with the Chiefs after spending 2009-12 backing up Drew Brees in New Orleans.
The job, he added, repeatedly snapping his fingers for emphasis, "is built on people who can react."
Backup Quarterbacks Are Always On Call from KC Star
One of the most difficult times in Gannon's career occurred in 1997, when he played well and had the Chiefs rolling into the playoffs in place of the injured Elvis Grbac.
The Chiefs went with Grbac as their starter once he returned in time for the playoff game against the Broncos, which the Chiefs wound up losing. But the week of the game, Gannon stood up for Grbac in the locker room, telling his teammates the decision had been made and the Chiefs needed to support their starting quarterback, even if it wasn't him.
"A lot of the people in the locker room knew it was the wrong decision," Gannon said. "Everybody knew the kind of guy I was and the kind of guy he was and they responded to me differently and probably in a better way."
Memorable Pass Receptions In Chiefs History from KC Star
Otis Taylor against Minnesota, Super Bowl IV, Jan. 11, 1970. Perhaps the most iconic play in team history. Taylor caught a short pass, broke a tackle attempt and ran to the end zone to complete the 46-yard play that clinched the club's only Super Bowl victory.
Andy Reid's Media Conference Call Transcript from The Mothership
Q: With two weeks out what is your biggest concern? What's your biggest concern if you had to play tomorrow?
"Well, I'm not too worried about playing tomorrow. We have a couple of weeks here. It's just a matter of keep playing together, that's the main thing. You just keep growing as a team. You put the word ‘concern' out there, I'm in a day-to-day process. We're trying to get better as a coach and as players, so that's what we're all about."
Back From Pilgrimage, Husain Abdullah Playing For Others from USA Today
The Fifth Pillar of Islam is The Hajj - a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that all Muslims are supposed to make once in a lifetime, provided they have the health and the wealth.
NFL players put their health on the line every day. The wealth is a different story, which is why even close teammates were stunned when Husain and his brother, eight-year NFL veteran Hamza Abdullah, announced they were putting their careers on hold to take a spiritual journey.
Alex Smith Gives Chiefs What They Need from ESPN
It was the type of performance the Chiefs are looking for from Smith. He played smart, ball-control football. Smith was good in the Chiefs' preseason opener at New Orleans and he had a strong camp. The Chiefs have to be feeling great about him as the season opener at Jacksonville looms in two weeks.
Chiefs Vs. Steelers Recap: Receiver Step Up from Warpaint Illustrated
I know Head Coach, Andy Reid, likes McCluster but to be honest he is a smaller receiver that isn't very physical. And if we've learned anything about Reid and the style of receivers he likes, they have to be able to punch back. All McCluster has is great speed. The rest of his game is average.
Don't get me wrong I like McCluster and he has value to KC's offense. But the Chiefs should consider trading him next weekend for a 2014 draft pick. He could garner them a third or fourth round pick from a team needing a solid slot receiver. And they're could be plenty of suitors next weekend.
Enright Blow As Syncreon's $1bn Sale Is 'Off The Table' from The Irish Independent
Syncreon is embroiled in a bitter legal row with former US chief executive Willie Lanier in a dispute over his options and his exit from the company. Mr Lanier is a famous American footballer, having been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. The ex-Kansas City chiefs player was the first black middle linebacker in pro football history. He was a Superbowl winner in 1969.
The documents suggest that the attempts to sell Syncreon have been unsuccessful.
For Maurice Jones-Drew, It's Full Speed Ahead from The Florida Times-Union
All indications are Jones-Drew will be ready when it counts: Week 1 vs. Kansas City on Sept. 8 at EverBank Field. That gives Jones-Drew 13 more days to get closer to full strength and prove his critics wrong.
"It's always something every year," Jones-Drew said. "It's not that big of a deal to me. The guys I rehabbed with at UCLA, to being here, to being in Miami. All three phases, they did a great job and they were able to get me back. I'm excited and I can't wait to see what it's like during the season."