The Chiefs finally made another move in free agency, and Scott Pioli made sure to upgrade the middle of the defense with a low cost, under the radar maneuver that fans have come to expect. Brandon Siler, former ILB for the San Diego Chargers, is the signee and the impact will be felt immediately on special teams, where he had seven tackles last season. He’ll also have a chance to supplant Jovan Belcher as the inside linebacker next to Derrick Johnson.
At the very least, the Chiefs have upgraded the quality of depth at the position — one that felt thin on the inside especially. The Chiefs made some moves to get deeper on the outside with the draft choices of Gabe Miller and Justin Houston while also bringing back Cameron Sheffield from last season’s draft class. Along with Tamba Hali and Andy Studebaker, there are some talented players vying for that OLB slot opposite Hali — guys with promise who should be intriguing for Romeo Crennel to work with. But on the inside, some holes could be found.
Siler has played a limited role since joining the Chargers four seasons ago out of Florida. He’s still only 25, so some potential is there for him to tap into if the Chiefs can utilize him better than the Chargers did. Siler only earned 12 games started in his four seasons in SD, with five coming last year. He had 44 tackles and 1 sack last season to go with 1 interception.