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In a move first reported by The Athletic’s Nate Taylor, the Kansas City Chiefs have signed former Los Angeles Rams center Austin Blythe to a one-year contract.
The Chiefs agreed to a 1-year deal with center Austin Blythe, per a source.
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) March 30, 2021
Blythe, 28, first joined the league as a seventh-round selection of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Rams claimed Blythe from waivers in the spring of 2017. After starting just one game in 2017, he started all but one of the Rams' regular-season games over the next three years, and he has started five playoff games.
He is a native of Williamsburg, Iowa. A two-time All-State center in high school, he started four years for the Iowa Hawkeyes. In his senior season, he was a finalist for the Rimington Award, which is given to the nation’s top collegiate center.
The Chiefs allowed previous starting center Austin Reiter to walk in free agency, although they were reported to have made him an offer for a new contract.
For the moment, it would appear that Blythe would have the inside track to become the team's starting center in 2021, with third-year player Nick Allegretti potentially in the mix.