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Chiefs Confirm Dallas Clark, O.J. Atogwe Visit KC

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The Kansas City Chiefs are done with the 2012 NFL Draft. The rookie wage scale has created a situation in which teams don't have to spend as much time on rookie contracts, which opens up more time for the Chiefs to peruse the veteran free agent market.

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli was on 810 WHB's Border Patrol this morning and confirmed that both safety O.J. Atogwe and tight end Dallas Clark were visiting the Chiefs this week.

"Yes, we're still involved in free agency and OJ Atogwe was in a couple nights ago, right after the draft," Pioli said. "Dallas is in here visting us today and taking a physical. We continue to talk to free agent players, prior to the draft and truthfully during the draft. Certain things happened with the draft and the teams start to crystallyze before your eyes and you have a good idea of guys you have to talk to."
Pioli said that the Chiefs would also be talking to some of their own free agents.
"It's not always only what we want to do, but the players have to figure out what they want to do, and where they want to be and what their situations are," Pioli said. "I think some of the positions we're going to talk to about...we'd like to have another veteran tight end to add to the mix as long as its the right player with the right skill set. Safety's another position."
But do either of these guys have anything left? Maybe, maybe not.

Atogwe was most recently with the Washington Redskins. I asked SB Nation's Redskins blog, Hogs Haven, about what Atogwe could offer.
Atogwe was a casualty of the salary cap penalty the NFL brought down on the Redskins. They probably wouldn't have cut him given how poor the Redskins safety position is right now, but he's a shell of what he used to be. He was injured when he came into training camp last year although a lot of players were in poor shape after the lockout. He took "mental reps" most of camp and it was clear he was playing hurt with nagging injuries (hamstring, knee).

Atogwe had bonuses in his contract for each game he started, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but I think it ended up hurting the Redskins more since that just meant OJ was always willing to play (hurt). His numbers don't seem that bad, but he just seemed to be a ghost out there....never really in on any plays. If KC signs OJ...Chiefs fans should be hoping someone beats him out for the starting gig. He's a cerebral coach on the field type player that can help the youngsters, but I wouldn't invest in his jersey.

And on Clark, former Colt, SB Nation's Colts blog, Stampede Blue, said:

Rumor around the league is that he could be done. He had a freak wrist injury in 2010, and it has affected his ability to completely close his hand. This led to a lot of dropped balls last year, something Clark has always struggled with. Clark also has a concussion history.

You're probably not going to find any free agents at this point in the offseason that don't have some issues, whether that be ability or injury.

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