Despite the absence of a press release from the Kansas City Chiefs, Amani Toomer is in River Falls and participating in camp with the team.
There are a couple of ways to take this signing.
Either Toomer represents an upgrade over a handful of the Chiefs current crop of receivers namely Jeff Webb, Rodney Wright and a few of the other rookies and can help mold the younger guys into better players....
...Or he's over-the-hill and is only taking snaps from the younger guys.
However you look at it, it's fairly clear to me that the Chiefs would point to option one. After listening to fomer Giants GM Ernie Accorsi on 610 Sports this afternoon, I'm definitely on board with this signing. He's in the same veteran mold as Mike Vrabel and Zach Thomas and embodies the high character players the Chiefs have targeted.
Accorsi was the Giants assistant GM in 1996 when they drafted Toomer and, while that was 14 years ago, still believes he can offer the Chiefs some help on and off the field. The hosts of the show started the segment characterizing Toomer as a possession receiver like Dwayne Bowe and Bobby Engram but Accorsi was quick to point out that Toomer caught his fair share of deep balls in New York.
Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star weighed in on the signing in his latest video blog. He appears to like the signing and describes it as a "low-risk" move keeping in mind the Chiefs can cut him prior to the season without any financial repercussions.
After the jump, I've got notes on what he said. Or you can watch the video here.
The signing of Amani Toomer of says a lot about what the Chiefs feel about their wide receivers right now. Todd Haley has been all over the receivers during camp for some dropped passes. And clearly the Chiefs aren't happy with the candidates they have to be their #2 receiver next to Dwayne Bowe.
We're talking about a group that includes Devard Darling and Mark Bradley. Bobby Engram fits into the picture probably as a slot receiver instead of a starting receiver that's going to play every down.
The signing of Toomer is a low risk signing for the Chiefs. If he works out, great. If he's anything close to the player he was for so many years with the Giants then it's a great signing for the Chiefs.
But he's 34 and if he's lost his skills the Chiefs can cut him without any financial loss but they've missed an opportunity to get a #2 receiver that they so badly need.