The Kansas City Chiefs agreed to terms with WR Steve Breaston on Wednesday and he'll be with the team 24 hours later. The KC Star reports Breaston will join the Chiefs when they arrive in St. Joe for training camp later today.
As with a lot of things in the post-lockout world, I'm a little confused by this.
First, he won't be actually practicing at camp this week. Language in the new labor deal between the owners and players reportedly prohibits free agents from practicing with their new team until Aug. 4, the start of the new league year. That apparently means Breaston, and other Chiefs free agents, won't be getting on the field in St. Joe this weekend.
Second, it's unclear if he's even allowed to meet with the Chiefs coaching staff yet. They've agreed to terms, but nothing is official until Friday night. Pro Football Talk reported that teams can't visit face-to-face with free agents from other teams, yet. So, apparenlty that can't happen until Friday night.
It sounds like I'm not the only one confused by all this. Breaston himself said on 810 WHB's The Border Patrol this morning he wasn't quite sure what he could do.
"I was hoping to figure out all that today," he said. "I don't really know that for sure. I don't think I can practice until Aug. 4 but up until then I think I can go to meetings but I'm not sure on that for sure, though."
One way to find out is to see if he's with the team when they report to St. Joe this evening.