"They told me after the draft that if they couldn’t trade me before the minicamp, they would release me then," Wesley said, referring to the June 6-8 minicamp. "Since then, they told me they would release me sooner than that.

"This would be great. I feel like I’ll be in good shape as far as getting a job even if they don’t do it until June 1. Some teams have shown a lot of interest in me. There’s not a big supply of safeties. I guess you could say the demand is bigger than the supply, so I’m not worried about getting a job. They’re just waiting for me to be released."

Wesley lost out to the younger crew of Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page, despite, in my opinion, playing just as well last season as that pair if not better.

Greg Wesley spent his entire nine-year career with the Chiefs, leaving Kansas City with 29 interceptions and 497 tackles.

There was no reason to keep Wesley on with the current conditions of the team, making him less a casualty of his play and more of his age. Arrowhead Addict has a post on Wesley too.

That should be it for me today. Packing and organizing my life before I head out tomorrow is top priority. I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the help I've brought on.

In the meantime, FanPosts, FanPosts, FanPosts. I'll be checking in over the next few days but I'll definitely be around less.

Yesterday, the Kansas City Chiefs signed former Georgia offensive linemen and 2007 6th round pick Ken Shackleford. The Bulldog was drafted by the Rams but was also scouted by the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2007 draft.

Truly a massive player at 6'5" and 330 pounds, Shackleford is one of those late round tackle prospects that has "developmental" and "project" attached to his name. Another way to look at those adjectives is that Shackleford has the physical size and the minimum amount of required athleticism for teams to believe he can improve with NFL level coaching and conditioning. He's a low-risk investment, if you will. This description of Shackleford is floating around the Internet in various forms - "A better-than-advertised athlete with the size and strength to play at the next level, Shackleford is a developmental prospect who could surprise if he hits on all cylinders."

Most if not all teams take on a developmental tackle or two each year, if only to keep on the practice squad. The Chiefs last attempt at a project offensive lineman was Ramiro Pruneda, who was signed in January '07 and subsequently cut right before training camp.

After a strong start in 2005, Shackleford fell out of the offensive tackle rotation as the deaths hit home. In the words of offensive line coach Neil Callaway, Shackleford "really kind of went in a little tailspin" after his aunt, Penny Shackleford, succumbed to cancer, and his grandfather, Eddie Holiday and a great-grandmother, I.V. Phillips, died.

Shackleford rebounded during his senior season to start every game for the Bulldogs at split tackle. He was the least experienced offensive linemen his senior year but was touted as the linemen with the most NFL promise.

Shackleford is little more than training camp fodder for the Kansas City Chiefs. But his size, any player of that size, will intrigue scouts and teams to give him at least a training camp shot. His signing shows a trend this off-season in Kansas City linemen signings - They like guys that have experience playing multiple positions. Little is settled on the Chiefs' offensive line and there will likely be a significant shake up in the positions that Damion McIntosh, Brandon Albert and even Brian Waters will play. Nearly every linemen on the roster has experience, whether NFL or college, playing multiple positions.

The starting offensive line in Week 1 of the 2008 season will not be set in stone. Expect a lot of rotations and a lot of position switching this year.

Output from the rookie camp two weekends ago. From the mothership:

Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Monday that the club has agreed to terms of a two-year contracts FB Steven Jackson, LB E.J. Kuale, WR Kevin McMahan and T Ken Shackleford. As per Chiefs policy, no other terms of the agreements were made available.

Jackson (6-2, 246) originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Minnesota in 2006. He attended training camp with the Vikings, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. Jackson joined Carolina’s practice squad after his release and was promoted to the Panthers active roster for the final two contests of the 2006 campaign. He attended training camp with Carolina in 2007, but was released prior to the start of the regular season.

The Columbia, South Carolina native appeared in 36 games (six starts) during a three-year career at Clemson. Jackson began his collegiate career at East Tennessee State and prepped at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina.

Jackson will be the fourth fullback currently on the Kansas City Chiefs, making it by far the most competitive position on the roster.

Kuale (6-1, 229) originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with New Orleans in 2006. He traveled to training camp with the Saints in 2006, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. He joined that Saints practice squad after his release and remained on the developmental squad for the entire 2006 campaign. The LSU product saw duty in 18 games (three starts) after transferring from Dodge City Community College. He concluded his career with 36 tackles (15 solo), six tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks (-27.0 yards). He prepped at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Dodge City Community College to LSU? $100 of fake money to anyone who can tell me without looking what conference DCCC is in.

McMahan (6-2, 192) spent a portion of the 2007 campaign on Kansas City’s practice squad. He originally entered the NFL as Oakland’s seventh-round pick (255th overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft. He attended training camp with the N.Y. Giants in 2007, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. He also spent time on that club’s practice squad.

The University of Maine product saw action in 44 games for the Black Bears, catching 130 passes for 1,995 yards (15.3 avg.) and 25 TDs. He earned All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors as a senior in 2005 after setting single-season school records for receptions (59), receiving yards (893) and TDs (13). He prepped at Aquinas Institute in Rochester, New York.

McMahan is a journeyman, practice squad type. He's been a part of the Raiders, Colts, Giants and Chiefs in his short career.

Shackleford (6-5, 365) originally entered the NFL as St. Louis’ sixth-round pick (190th overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft. He attended training camp with the Rams a year ago, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. The University of Georgia product appeared in 46 games (14 starts) for the Bulldogs, allowing just one QB sack. He was a first-team all-state selection at Villa Rica High School in Villa Rica, Georgia.

Shackleford's claim to fame is being cut from the St. Louis Rams the same day as Denzel Washington's son. This isn't a claim to fame so much as the first page that showed up when I Googled his name.

For a good portion of this fan's life, the Kansas City Chiefs were known first as a defensive team. My football memories of the 1990s are filled with Derrick Thomas' hands clasped above his hand in a safety signal, Neil Smith home run swings and Dale Carter running back interceptions.

Even though this isn't defense related, I'm going to throw in Steve Bono's record breaking run. You know, just because.

The winds shifted to the offensive side of the ball in the early part of the 21st century. In fact, the Chiefs did an about face. During the 1990s, the Chiefs defensive averaged about a top ten finish in points allowed and yards allowed. Since 2000, those defensive ranks have fallen into the lower third of the NFL.

Currently, the Kansas City Chiefs don't have much of an offensive or defensive identity.

The defense is solid but not great. Not yet anyway.

The offense has a few bright spots but also a lot of unknowns.

So, my question to you is, what are the strongest positions on the Kansas City Chiefs? And, will those strengths become pillars? Or will they crumble within a few years?

I'll resort to the blogger's best friend - lists - to get this conversation started. Here are my top three positions of strength on the Kansas City Chiefs:

1. Running back - The addition of Jamaal Charles suddenly catapults the Chiefs' personnel of the running game into the team's biggest strength. Larry Johnson is the #1 bruising back a Herm Edwards' team needs and Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles are excellent compliments to LJ's style.

2. Linebackers - I don't really like putting linebacker as a major position of strength for the Chiefs but with so many unknowns on the team, this corp slides in. Derrick Johnson is slowly coming into his own since being drafted in 2005; Donnie Edwards is still an excellent player but won't be for much longer; and DeMorrio Williams and Nap Harris at least have experience, which is more than you can say for a lot of Chiefs positions.

The linebacker position appears to be stable, which is enough to make it on this list. I need to see much more from Derrick Johnson and just a glimmer of hope from Williams to be comfortable with this crew. Harris was unimpressive last year and left much to be desired.

3. Punter - You knew this was coming, right? Go through the roster and tell me what other positions for the Chiefs are stronger than punter. Dustin Colquitt falls into here sort of by default, but also because he's been one of the top performers at his position.

This was a pretty interesting exercise to go though if you do it objectively. We have a tenuous, at best, hold on our strengths.

Jason Whitlock was there to ask him a few questions.

On who the Chiefs should draft...

- A team with a lot of holes to fill
- The Chiefs will probably end up trading down
- A lot of good offensive linemen this draft
- Jake Long would be great but there are a lot of other good players too

On expectations for this season...

- Optimistic last year; was completely wrong
- Cautious outlook this year

On trade rumors involving himself...

- If the Chiefs want to trade him, so be it. He wouldn't be shocked. It's a business.
- Has not asked for more money
- Heard a lot of different rumors this off season
- Hopes the Chiefs are up front with him about their plans
- Sitting out off season training activities (OTAs) but that's normal for him. He wants to spend time with his family.

I listened to this interview because it was billed in the notes on the Jim Rome web site and on a few Chiefs message boards as an interview where Waters floats the idea of the Chiefs trading him. I did not take that away from this interview. Whitlock prodded Waters a bit to talk about the Chiefs trading him but Waters gave the standard athlete response - It's a business. It wasn't anything any one else wouldn't say to a randomly brought up trade rumor. He didn't exactly sound ecstatic about the organization and it's direction but he wasn't asking for a trade either.

So if you read about this interview elsewhere, I wouldn't sweat it. It wasn't much to listen to.

Albert Haynesworth, Titans. Age: 27 -- Haynesworth was franchised by the Titans on February 20th. The Titans have until July 15th to work out a long-term deal. Haynesworth would have definitely been the top defensive tackle if he had hit the free agent market.

Corey Williams, Packers. Age: 28 -- It appears that the Packers don't have any intentions of keeping backup defensive tackle Corey Williams longer than one year. The Packers have a lot of depth on the defensive line and the money Wiliams would command right now is just too much for them. For the time being though, he does have the franchise tag so he's not going anywhere. Williams and Haynesworth were the top two unrestricted free agent tackles before they were franchised.

Brian Young, Saints. Age: 31 -- Pneumonia ended Young's 2007 season after he was placed on injured reserve by the Saints in late December. The Saints have a little cap room to play with this off-season so they may try to secure a better player than Young. He has not been resigned by the Saints and isn't expected to be. Young doesn't fit into the Chiefs plans and hasn't shown enough ability to warrant a starting spot on the Chiefs line.

Tommy Kelly, Raiders. Age: 27 -- Less of a penetrating tackle and more of a player who takes up space and frees up his teammates, Kelly may or may not be resigned by the Oakland Raiders. Coming off of a torn ACL that forced him to spend most of 2007 on IR, Kelly's value should be low enough that the Raiders can resign him pretty easily. His free agent market value took a hit as well with his ACL injury. I'm not especially interested in Tommy Kelly but I suppose he could be a possibility for the Chiefs. He's the type of player Herm has been saying he's interested in -- not a big money guy, young, up and coming.

Isaac Spopaga, 49ers. Age: 27 -- Another part-time starter signed to a five year deal. The 49ers feel like Spopaga is a good fit at nose tackle for them.

Ethan Kelley, Browns. Age: 28 -- His future is in limbo in Cleveland for the time being. He's an unrestricted free agent who had who had post-season knee surgery. Indications are that the Brows will let him test the free agent waters. The willingness of the Browns to let him go (they were ranked 27th in rushing last year) and his knee surgery make me really question him. The Chiefs are better off giving Tank and Turk another year.

Rod Coleman, Falcons. Age: 32 -- Released on February 15th, Coleman will never be a starter again in the NFL. He's too old for the Chiefs to sign anyway.

As you can see, it's a weak free agency market this year. So what should the Chiefs do? Depending on how the draft plays out, we may fill our defensive line needs there. There is also a distinct possibility that the Chiefs will rely on the rotation of Ron Edwards, Tank Tyler, Turk McBride and Alfonso Boone again. 2008 is probably a make or break year for Turk McBride and Tank Tyler, last year's second and third round picks. If they don't show massive improvement, we'll be writing about them as busts at the end of the season. For right now, it doesn't appear that the Chiefs are going to make any moves for any free agent defensive tackle in 2008.

Kyle Turley quietly mentioned his retirement at a recent fundraiser for Gridiron Greats, an organization set up to help retired NFL players. For those following the Chiefs closely, Turley's announcement was all but a formality. In an interview with Fox Sports Jay Mohr posted today, Turley, as always, has some interesting answers to typical questions.

Check out the rest of the interview. It's a good afternoon read, even if Turley is pissed off he's still not playing in the NFL.

Congratulations to the New York Giants and Ed over at Big Blue View. Ed is a great blogger and his team deserved the win.

I'm still in a daze about the game. I can't believe the Giants pulled off the upset. I was living so vicariously through the Patriots "perfect" season that I never really imagined the possibility of them losing.

Man, shame on Asante Samuel. An errant Eli Manning passed literally went through Samuel's hands on the Giants final drive. If Samuel catches that easy INT, the Patriots win Super Bowl XLII. I guess that's why he's a corner back and not a wide out.

As much as I despise the Manning family and Eli himself, the kid did win his team the Super Bowl with his 3rd down scramble, escape and pass to David Tyree on the Giant's final drive. That, my friends, showed that Eli (Yes! Eli Manning!) wanted to win that game more than anyone else on the field.

I'd write more but I'm still in shock over the greatest Super Bowl I've ever seen. Color me jealous. The more I write, the worse I feel.

The NFL beast marches on. Roger Goodell has to feel pretty good about now.