Arrowheadlines: Tanoh Kpassagnon chose the Saints over the Chiefs

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Tanoh Kpassagnon chose to sign with the Saints over the Chiefs | Herbie Teope

Chiefs strike free-agency hit with Jarran Reed as their coveted third pass rusher | The Athletic

Together, Veach and Clark convinced Reed that he could have similar success with the Chiefs and that the team’s chances of reaching its third straight Super Bowl would increase with his 6-foot-3, 306-pound presence. The Chiefs, according to a source, beat seven teams — including the Bengals, Cowboys and Bills — to acquire Reed.

“Jarran wanted to be in Kansas City,” one source told The Athletic.

NFL Power Rankings 2021: Post-free-agency 1-32 poll, plus which teams made the best offseason moves | ESPN.com

1. Kansas City Chiefs

Way-too-early ranking: 1

Best offseason move: Releasing Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher

The Chiefs’ long-time starting offensive tackles were good players, but with both coming off surgeries, there were too many unknowns for the team to count on them in 2021 or beyond. The Chiefs cleared $18 million of cap space in moving on, giving them some help in acquiring the resources (such as Joe Thuney) to fix their crumbling offensive line. These moves would have looked even better had the Chiefs landed a left tackle like Trent Williams in free agency. — Adam Teicher

Former Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman is raffling off his AFC Championship Game ring | Kansas City Star

Sherman, who retired earlier this month, tweeted that his 2020 AFC Championship Ring would be raffled off to support the International Justice Mission.

The IJM says it is “a global organization that protects people in poverty from violence. We partner with local authorities in 21 program offices in 14 countries to combat trafficking and slavery, violence against women and children, and police abuse of power.”

On Twitter, Sherman wrote: “Enter to win my AFC Championship RING, and you’ll help send rescue to people experiencing violence and slavery. @IJM is working to end slavery, and I’ve partnered with them for the All In For Freedom sweepstakes”

According to the IJM website, the ring for winning January’s game against Buffalo will be available this summer and has an estimated retail value of $10,000.

Around the NFL

A Massage Therapist on Her Session With Deshaun Watson | Sports Illustrated

“The one thing I keep thinking about is, he’s about to get traded to another place,” Mary says. “What if he goes to Atlanta or California or anywhere else? He would have a whole new community of massage therapists to target.”

Moreover, Watson’s blanket denial of ever treating women with disrespect helped spur Mary to speak up and lend her voice as a witness.

“More than anything, the fact that he’s denying all the allegations makes it more of a reason for us to use our voice and say what we have to say,” she says.

Jeremiah: Majority of the NFL believes 49ers trade was for Mac Jones | 49ers Web Zone

“Well, I think the majority of people around the league believe this is for Mac Jones,” Jeremiah said on the Football Show podcast for The Athletic.

What was the reaction by the podcast host, Robert Mays? It was one word—”Wow.”

“And so, shock, that what you just said is probably the overwhelming reaction that I’ve received, which is ‘wow,’” Jeremiah continued. “It’s what you hear from a lot of people. I would say this: Of the people that you would want to believe, and you put your faith in, the overwhelming majority of them believe this is going to be Mac Jones with that pick. So, that’s what’s so shocking.”

Mac Jones at No. 12 may have been more palatable to 49ers fans. But the idea of surrendering multiple first-round picks and a third-rounder to move up to No. 3 to grab him while leaving prospects with potentially higher ceilings in Fields and Lance on the board has many scratching their heads.

Trevor Lawrence skipping NFL Draft in Cleveland: report | Fox News

A year after the NFL Draft was forced to go virtual, it will be live in Cleveland with players in attendance this April.

With that said, the presumptive No. 1 pick will not be there.

Former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is expected to be taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the top selection, declined the NFL’s invite to attend the draft, according to ESPN.

Instead, he will be watching it at Clemson with a few family members and friends. Lawrence is the top-rated quarterback in a draft class that features Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Alabama’s Mac Jones, Zach Wilson of BYU, and Trey Lance of North Dakota State.

NFL player accidentally leaks new contract to his wife’s Call of Duty: Warzone squad | PCGamer.com

I’ve heard all sorts of “interesting” things said over voice chat in Call of Duty: Warzone, but I’ve never heard an NFL player spill the beans about their fancy new team contract. That’s exactly what Reddit user ProbationOfficer2035 overheard this weekend when they randomly grouped up with Twitch streamer Oohtally, who’s also the wife of Bears offensive guard Rashaad Coward.

Probation described the unlikely event on the official NFL subreddit, saying that their teammate “had her mic on and I could hear her husband talking in the background about a ‘deal.’” Turns out, that “deal” was Coward’s now-confirmed move to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “The last thing I heard was that if no one else calls within the next 30 minutes he’s gonna sign a 3-year deal in order to facilitate the trade because he would love to be in Pittsburgh.”

Ironically, Probation had the scoop on Coward’s move to Pittsburgh a full two days before anyone else, but couldn’t figure out which player they had heard in the background. Now that the cat is fully out of the bag, Ohtally addressed the news while wrapping up her Warzone stream today.

Morgan Burnett retires after 10 NFL seasons | NBC Sports

Safety Morgan Burnett, who played eight of his 10 NFL seasons in Green Bay, announced his retirement Monday.

“After 10 years in the NFL, I have decided to retire,” Burnett wrote, in part, on Instagram. “Ups and downs, wins and loses, I’m grateful for every moment and thankful for every opportunity I got to step on a practice and game field. I may be hanging the cleats up, but I will always have love and respect for the game.”

In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs’ Jarran Reed film review: Why Kansas City’s defensive line just got better

Louis Riddick reported shortly after the signing — which usually means it’s well-sourced — that the Chiefs plan to utilize Jones more as a defensive end on base downs before kicking him inside on pass-rushing downs.

This makes sense, as most Spagnuolo defensive tackles have been built like Reed, and most defensive ends have been closer to Jones’ build. We know that Spagnuolo and Daly like to rush their defensive ends from the inside on passing downs, and that happens to be where Jones is most effective. Jones also has some natural leverage problems due to his height, so putting him on the edge of the defense against the run could help him utilize his length to set the edge and create a better front.

If Jones can fill that early-down defensive end role — one that he’s asked Spagnuolo to play for two years now — that helps to solve a potential need for the Chiefs this offseason. Given a full minicamp and training camp, it’s not unreasonable to think that Jones could be a better player on the edge of the defense than he was when he filled that role in 2019 against the Tennessee Titans.

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