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While fans of the Kansas City Chiefs can focus on Wednesday’s parade to celebrate winning Super Bowl LVII, the team’s front office will now turn to offseason moves. Per Ari Meirov of 33rd Team, Kansas City’s first offseason move appears to involve a very familiar face — former starting center Austin Reiter.
The #Chiefs have begun signing players to future contracts. Among them: Veteran C Austin Reiter, per source. Kansas City has valued his leadership and experience in the OL room and want to keep him around.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 14, 2023
Reiter was KCs starting center for their first two Super Bowl teams.
Reiter, 31, a former seventh-round selection of the Washington Commanders, started 32 regular season games for the Chiefs from 2018-20. He also started all six playoff games — including Super Bowls LIV and LV — in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
In his first Super Bowl appearance, Reiter helped the Chiefs bring Kansas City its first Lombardi Trophy in a half-century. When the team returned to the championship game a year later, Reiter was part of the much-maligned Super Bowl LV offensive line performance that saw quarterback Patrick Mahomes seemingly running from pressure on every play.
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The Chiefs did not re-sign Reiter after the 2020 season — and the team selected Creed Humphrey in the following draft as his replacement. Reiter appeared in five games with the Miami Dolphins in 2021 before returning to Kansas City last offseason.
He did not make the Chiefs’ 2022 roster, spending most of the season on the practice squad. The Chiefs elevated Reiter for the Divisional Round playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and again for Sunday’s Super Bowl, though he was declared inactive for both.
With Kansas City boasting perhaps the league’s best offensive line interior with Humphrey and guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith, Reiter has no path to return to the Chiefs’ starting lineup. Depth on the offensive line, however, could be an offseason issue with versatile backup Nick Allegretti set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Future signings are essentially tryout opportunities with the opportunity to earn a minimum salary. With only 36 players currently signed for 2023, the next 15 contracts the Chiefs add will count against next season’s salary cap until the roster reaches 51.
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