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Jay Ratliff, a multi-time Pro Bowler, visited the KC Chiefs on Wednesday, according to Aaron Wilson of National Football Post. Ratliff is a 6'4 and 303-pound defensive tackle who was released by the Cowboys in the middle of October.
This is very, very interesting news. Ratliff was a nose tackle in the Cowboys 3-4 defense and made four consecutive Pro Bowls. He's regarded as a very good tackle on the other end of his career. He is 32 years old.
This is a nice write-up from Blogging The Boys on Ratliff's time in Dallas. He was just a seventh round pick in 2005 so he has a great story that a lot of fans enjoyed.
Several big questions here. Is he healthy? How much does he have left in the tank? And where would he fit with the Chiefs?
Ratliff was placed on IR after sports hernia surgery midway through the Cowboys 2012 season. He returned to the team in training camp of this year but was never quite healthy, suffering a setback and going through other various injuries. But he IS healthy, according to his agent. This is from last week:
Ex-#Cowboys DT Jay Ratliff cleared by Dr. William Myers this morning to resume football activity, per email from his agent to NFL teams.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 23, 2013
If he's capable of playing defensive end for the Chiefs, he could fill a few roles, backing up Dontari Poe at nose tackle but also the defensive ends in Tyson Jackson and Mike DeVito. While those players are healthy right now (as far as we know), it's always good to have a plan in place in case something happens.
And, if you're a free agent like Ratliff, wouldn't you be pretty darn interested in playing for the only undefeated team in the league?
Former Cowboys DT Jay Ratliff has visited Chiefs, Bears. Might make one more visit. Teams believe healthy enough to play in 2 to 4 weeks
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) October 31, 2013
The Dolphins are also said to have been one of the teams that called.
Color me intrigued by this visit. We'll see if anything comes out of it.
Update: Also, read this on Ratliff. Perhaps there's more to the story.
H/T stagdsp