The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley, as first reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
The #Jaguars are making a pair of moves on offense around Nick Foles this morning. They’re signing WR Chris Conley, who had five TDs for the #Chiefs last year and former #Bengals first-round OT Cedric Ogbuehi, sources say.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 16, 2019
The Chiefs drafted Conley, 26, in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He will enter the mix of weapons for newly-acquired quarterback Nick Foles, who he played with for a season in 2016 when Foles was a backup for Alex Smith.
"Foles has been a friend of mine for a long time."@_flight17_ looks forward to being teammates with @NickFoles once again. pic.twitter.com/hEvt2tPR3c
— #DUUUVAL (@Jaguars) March 16, 2019
“I just see what culture’s being built here, the addition of Nick Foles,” Conley told Jaguars.com. “Nick Foles has been a friend of mine for a long time. We actually talked about this day three years ago when he was in Kansas City. I said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be a starting quarterback one day and when you are, let’s make it happen. Let’s make this run.’
“There is opportunity here to begin with but then with the addition of him at quarterback, that sealed the deal for me.”
Thank you #ChiefsKingdom. The last 4 years have been a blast and such a blessing. I consider you all family and friends. I’m excited to continue my career in Jacksonville! God is good. pic.twitter.com/BmEWDkLFTM
— Chris Conley (@_flight17_) March 16, 2019
Conley will likely play a more significant role in Jacksonville than he did in Kansas City, and the Chiefs are left to make up for his 802 offensive snaps (77 percent) in 2018. The Chiefs wide receiver room currently includes Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, Gehrig Dieter, Marcus Kemp, Byron Pringle, Sammie Coates, Josh Crockett and Davon Grayson.
My guess is the Chiefs feel Robinson or Dieter could fill Conley’s shoes as the No. 3 receiver with Kemp, Pringle and Coates as interesting competition. It would be no surprise if the Chiefs also draft a wide receiver with one of their mid-round picks.
In four seasons as a Chief, Conley had 104 catches for 1,238 yards and six touchdowns.