A couple days ago, I was talking with 810 WHB's Kevin Kietzmann and he asked me if the Kansas City Chiefs could release G Brian Waters this year. I said I really doubt it because A.) Waters is still useful to the team and B.) they probably would have made this public as soon as possible to give Waters the best chance at signing with another team.
And what do you know...the Chiefs release Brian Waters late last night. I didn't expect a late-week surprise like that.
I've seen some other folks say it's not that surprising of a move but I can't agree with that right now. This is very surprising. Sure, Waters was definitely getting up there in age but it's not like he was chopped liver last season. He had a good year, a Pro Bowl year, even if a lot of that was on reputation.
There's also part of me that has trouble processing move because, when it comes down to it, Brian Waters is the Kansas City Chiefs.
He's been here for a decade, he might lead the team in goodwill around the community with all of his charitable efforts and he was one of the few players we could be proud of in the dark days of the two and four-win seasons.
We're just fans but you feel like you've been through so much with this guy. He started in 2000, one of those years Chiefs fans have forgotten, he was here for the rise of the Dick Vermeil years and that potent offense, then coming back to reality with the Herm Edwards era and finally, after a rocky start, leading the team through the beginning of the Todd Haley era. That's half of my Chiefs memories right there.
To say Waters will be missed is an understatement. When something big was going down with the Chiefs, it's as if the media knew in the locker room to go straight to Waters. He was the team spokesman. People listen to him.
We'll see if it's the best football move but with everything else he's done around here there's nothing else to say other than that this sucks.