Chiefs sign free agent guard

According to multiple reports (first from friend-of-the-site Terez Paylor of Yahoo! Sports), the Kansas City Chiefs have signed free agent guard Kelechi Osemele to a one-year contract.

Osemele, 31, has eight years of NFL experience with the Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders and New York Jets. The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Osemele first entered the league when he was selected by the Ravens (out of Iowa State) in the second round (60th overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft.

He started at right tackle for one season in Baltimore before switching to left guard after his rookie season. There he remained for three more seasons with the Ravens before the Raiders signed him to a five-year, $60 million contract in 2016, where he made the first of two consecutive Pro Bowls and was also named a first-team All Pro.

But after his third season in Oakland, he was traded to the Jets in 2019. There he started the first three games of the season before suffering a shoulder injury. The Jets disagreed with Osemele’s doctors that he needed shoulder surgery. Osemele had the surgery anyway — and was released last October.

Over his career, Osemele has appeared in 96 games — plus seven more in the postseason — and has started every one of them.

This is clearly a move to replace Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who announced on Friday that he was exercising his right to opt-out of the 2020 season. As long as he is fully recovered from his shoulder surgery from last season, we should expect Osemele to be the man to beat at one of the guard positions.