While the news is slow if you aren't living in the Northeast part of the country right now. The fans of the rest of the NFL teams around the country look to free agents and mock drafts to fill their obsession for the next few months. It's no different in Kansas City right now as the idea of adding a few free agents looks like a welcomed idea to a team that has yet to make a real splash with a free agent since Scott Pioli took over a few years ago.
There is a consensus that this hasn't been the kindest off-season to the Kansas City Chiefs front office as candy-wrapper-gate gripped the city for 72 hours and rattled the cages a bit at Arrowhead. There is one way that the Chiefs can turn the public relations nightmare that has been this off-season into a positive, and that's adding a big-name free agent. It shouldn't be strictly because of the mess they've had to deal with over the past few weeks. It should be because there are still some obvious holes on this team and adding a quality starter, even pro bowler, is possible this off-season at positions we need to upgrade.
Hopefully the front office sees the benefit in helping the team and turning this nightmare of an off-season into something more positive. Another lackluster off-season is only going to enhance the grumbling and that will start to affect those on the fence about their upcoming season ticket dues. Here are five players that could be added through free agency that could help the Chiefs from a PR perspective, and on-the-field perspective.
1. The most obvious. Peyton "freaking" Manning. What better way to turn a PR disaster around this off-season than to add a HOF quarterback (if healthy)? The Chiefs window of winning is open right now with Jamaal Charles, Brandon Flowers, Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson and Eric Berry all entering their primes together. They are the Pro-Bowl caliber players that we have that are at the core of this team. Adding a player like Manning would bring so much excitement to Kansas City that any contract he'd sign would be justified by the attention a move like that would attract.
2. Carl Nicks. The two-time Pro Bowler could hit the open market if the New Orleans Saints slap the franchise tag on their signal caller, Drew Brees. Nicks will be a hit commodity because Pro Bowl caliber guards entering their prime would obviously attract plenty of attention. But if the Chiefs used free agency to grab Nicks and then took an offensive tackle with their first round pick, it could set their offensive line for years with Branden Albert, Jon Asamoah and Rodney Hudson.
3. Paul Soliai. The Miami Dolphins nose tackle would be a solid pickup for the Chiefs heading into next season. He's only 28 years old and his signing would show a commitment to locking up a vital position on the Chiefs defense. It'd be nice for Chiefs fans to see the front office not use a one-year stopgap at the position.
4. Shaun Rogers. Speaking of one-year stop-gaps. While Rogers may not be the player he used to be. He likes Romeo Crennel and he should hit the open market this year. He'd bring a Shaun Smith like nastiness to the defensive line and could help as part of the rotation, probably asking too much to be anymore than that next season.
5. Jermichael Finley. This is just thinking outside of the box at this point. But bringing in a player like Finley would give the Chiefs options with a hopefully, healthy Tony Moeaki in double tight end formations. It'd help with pass protection and Matt Cassel already loves to throw short routes. The double TE formation seems to be working for the New England Patriots. But their QB position is a little different with Tom Brady than the Chiefs is right now (see No. 1).
It's safe to say that if any of these five players would make a splash for the Chiefs this off-season, then it probably won't happen. If they even got two players off this list, it'd be a public relations gift when it's truly needed. Manning and Nicks would make most Chiefs fans forget anything even happened earlier this off-season.