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The Kansas City Chiefs officially signed former Saskatchewan Rough Riders wide receiver Weston Dressler to a contract earlier on Tuesday. The CFL's Rough Riders had confirmed last week that Dressler was released so he could pursue an NFL team. Seeing Dressler's name on the NFL's transactions list for Tuesday is the first official confirmation we've had on the news despite several reports from both Canada and here at the Kansas City Star.
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Dressler shouldn't be confused as some sort of savior at slot receiver. We have no clue what the Chiefs have in him. The CFL, where Dressler played the last six years, and NFL are very different leagues, particularly when it comes to size.
Dressler is 28 years old, stands 5'7 and weighs 179 pounds. Yes, that is very small. But so is Dexter McCluster.
Speaking of McCluster, this move could affect him. Dressler plays slot receiver and is a return man. McCluster plays slot receiver and is a return man. And, oh by the way, McCluster is scheduled to be a free agent in March. Still, we have no clue whether Dressler can play or not so to assume that he is replacing McCluster is premature. Maybe that ends up happening but I don't know enough about this guy to confidently state that.
The Chiefs are probably going to try to re-sign McCluster because they're not in a position where they should be losing talent at receiver. They need to be adding talent there. The problem is that McCluster just had his best season as a pro and could be expensive to re-sign. Maybe too expensive for the Chiefs, who are up against the salary cap.
Dressler's signing and McCluster's future are one of the top story lines this offseason. See all of the Chiefs free agents here.
More coverage of Dressler's signing:
- Chiefs Spin quotes Dressler's agent
- KC Star quotes Rough Riders assistant GM
- Dressler video interview (January 30)
