The Kansas City Chiefs added valuable depth and perhaps a starter to their interior offensive line on Wednesday, reaching a contract agreement with unrestricted free-agent guard Mike Goff, who played the past five years with the San Diego Chargers.
Goff, according to a source, agreed to a two-year, $3.5 million contract that will play him a little more than $1.7 million in 2009.
Goff, 33, was one of the last starting-caliber players at any position, especially the offensive line, remaining in the unrestricted pool. He can play center or guard, but has started mostly at right guard for the Chargers. The former Iowa star likely will start for the Chiefs, and should help the team address several pending line problems.
Starting guard Brian Waters has indicated he will not play for new coach Todd Haley, and what was one of the NFL's best and most consistent units for several seasons has been in flux the past two years.
Labor Dispute Could Put Chiefs Entire Season On The Road
The Chiefs home season might be in jeopardy because of a labor strike
at Truman Sports Complex, according to Kevin Kietzman with 810 Sports
Radio.
According to Kietzman, there are five days left in a labor contract
between the builder and the Ironworkers Local Number 10 Union. When the
contract expires at midnight on March 30, Kietzman said the iron
workers and carpenters will go on strike. If that strike lasts 30 to 60
days long, the Chiefs will have to play their entire season on the road.
Kietzman reported that opening day for the Royals would not be
affected. The Chiefs would have to play every scheduled home game at
the opposing team's stadium. Continue reading...
The Chiefs agreed to contract terms today with veteran offensive
lineman Mike Goff. Goff has some versatility and could wind up starting
for the Chiefs at center or right guard.
The 33-year-old Goff
played 11 NFL seasons, the first six with Cincinnati and the last five
with San Diego. He has been a starter for the past nine seasons.
Williamson: Owner is the key to the Gonzalez story
A day after Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt told the Kansas City Star that the team wasn't going to trade Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez, a source close to the player told The Associated Press he would be open to a trade.
The
key, though, is what Hunt wants. If the Chiefs don't want to trade
Gonzalez, they don't have to. Gonzalez acknowledged that much in early
February when I caught up with him at the Pro Bowl. He said at the time
he didn't know if he wanted to be traded, but said it didn't matter
because he is under contract and the Chiefs will make the call.
Gonzalez,
who had one of his best NFL seasons in his 12-year career in 2008,
would be a terrific receiving option for new quarterback Matt Cassel. It is very easy to see why the team would want to keep Gonzalez.
Contrary to remarks by Kansas City owner Clark Hunt, Tony Gonzalez wants to be traded if the right deal can be made, a person close to the Pro Bowl tight end told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, the person said Gonzalez was surprised that Hunt had said the Chiefs were definitely not going to trade their 10-time Pro Bowler.
"If the right deal can be made, Tony very much wants the Chiefs to trade him," the person said. "Tony is not demanding a trade. Tony cherishes the time he's spent with the Chiefs and he loves the way he's always been treated by the fans there. But he knows of some other teams that would be interested in him and if the right deal can be made, he wants it to be made."
A Chiefs spokesman said Hunt could not be immediately reached. At the owners' meeting in Dana Point, Calif., on Monday, Hunt said the Chiefs had decided not to deal Gonzalez, whose many NFL records includes the most catches, yards receiving and touchdown receptions by a tight end.
Note: In case you haven't seen it, below is an interesting video of how Tony continues to maintain his football physique despite adhering to a vegan diet (unrelated, I know):
That's the question many Chiefs fans asked since Engram was signed a
couple of weeks ago. The Chiefs intend to use Engram mainly as a slot
receiver, something coach Todd Haley believed they desperatedly lacked.
"He’s very good at what he does as a slot receiver," said Haley, who
once coached receivers for the Jets and Bears and Cowboys. "We don’t
really have anybody on campus that is that inside receiver, so to
speak. That’s a big thing for the offenses I’ve been involved in. Torry
Holt has obviously made a lot of hay outside the numbers as an outside
receiver. In trying to fill the holes, (slot receiver) was a need."
New Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley addressed the media at the annual NFL owners' meetings Tuesday.
He touched on several subjects. Here is a sampling:
On 2008 top pick Glenn Dorsey, who struggled as a rookie
"I'm
excited to about seeing him running around and lift because he's a guy
I thought a heck of a lot of coming out of college. Last year he wasn't
real productive but I think he's got a lot of great versatility,
especially where we are transitioning potentially to this 3-4. I think
there are some roles in there for him where he could have more of an
attacking role."
On his early impressions of new Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel
"I've
been telling everyone I hope he can play because he's got all of the
intangible things you get excited about as a coach. I just came off two
years of working with one of the best guys I've ever been around in Kurt Warner.
In best guys, I mean guys that are in to football, like to talk about
football. It's not about much else for Kurt Warner. This Matt Cassel
feels and acts a lot the same way. He is football 24/7 to the point
where I've had to pull back the reins on him a couple of times and say,
'Listen, Matt. These next couple of months are about getting in shape
and getting your body ready for the season. There's time enough for
football.' He's all football. He's calling me every day for numbers to
call some of the other guys on the team. We picked up Bobby Engram
and Bobby Engram is texting me wanting Cassel's number. At the same
time, a text is coming in from Cassel: 'Can I get Engram's number?' So
he's doing all of those things that get you excited as a coach. You
don't have to worry about what Matt Cassel is doing most of the time.
He'll be worrying about football."
Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt had some other interesting things to say at this week’s NFL meetings in California
---On whether his firing was fair to former coach Herm Edwards: "I
don’t think the National Football League is really a fair place. I know
that Herm did what he felt was in the best long-term interest to the
Kansas City Chiefs. But I’ve got to believe he knew it carried some
personal risk with that. He felt he needed to build this team into a
championship team with young players. I don’t disagree with the
approach he took. He walked into a difficult situation in that we had a
veteran team. He probably knew he was taking some risk as he took us in
a different direction with youth."
---On whether he had expectations for this season, as he did for the
last one: "I really don’t. Clearly, this is a year of change. The
football team has changed substantially and it will continue to change
before we start playing our next game. Hopefully we’ll be more exciting
and more competitive but it’s hard to really get your hands around it
with all of the changes that have taken place and will take place."
