And just like that, the Kansas City Chiefs have entered the NFL free agent market. For fans waiting for Scott Pioli and company to do something major with the $30-plus million at their disposal, a nice five-year deal with wide receiver Steve Breaston might do the trick.
The official deal is five years and includes a reported $9 million guaranteed. More details are sure to come forth tomorrow at the start of another business day. But in the meantime, Chiefs fans can rejoice knowing that a major piece of the puzzle has been added to an offense that was already potent and loaded with potential playmakers.
The Chiefs running game has been much celebrated for the last several months due to the emergence of Jamaal Charles as an elite NFL RB and the best overall running attack in the league. Dwayne Bowe led the NFL in touchdown receptions at 15 and no one else was even within one of him. Dexter McCluster is as athletic as they come and features game-changing ability if he can stay healthy. And Tony Moeaki is one of the best young tight ends in the league.
But aside from Bowe, there were all kinds of holes in the passing game. Matt Cassel hardly had an out if defenders stacked the box and Bowe was doubled, which is what happened in the playoff loss to the Ravens. To answer the problem, Jon Baldwin was drafted with the Chiefs first round choice and now a slot receiver has been found in former Arizona Cardinal Steve Breaston.
Breaston has a history, as most readers should know, with Todd Haley already, so the Chiefs head coach will preach a familiar message to Breaston. That’s a plus for a new veteran coming in who should be able to immediately assimilate to Haley’s ways and schemes. Breaston also provides instant credibility down the receiver food chain and offenses must respect his ability — the same ability that’s led to nearly 2,500 receiving yards over the last three seasons.
The Chiefs still have work to do on the defensive end and depth needs to be acquired in the linebacking corps and secondary as well as offensive tackle, but the pieces are now in place for the offense to take things to the next level in 2011. That should be a scary proposition for the rest of the AFC West.