Those teams who could use some help at offensive tackle, like the Kansas City Chiefs, should send out a few thank you notes to some teams who are helping the cause by adding to the players available on the market. The Houston Texans and San Diego Chargers are among the teams helping the most with the announcement that both Eric Winston and Marcus McNeill are hitting the free agent market.
McNeill is likely going to make way for a former Chiefs tackle in Jared Gaither, who has been reportedly negotiating a new deal with the Chargers. McNeill could make a nice find for the Chiefs, but health is an issue there, so it would be ridiculous to expect McNeill to hold up for 16 games without also making contingency plans on the roster.
Winston is the biggest surprise of all and is the best player in the tackle market at this point. The Texans are cutting cap room and it’s likely to be able to retain Mario Williams. But losing Winston is going to hurt the team’s offensive line in 2012.
The Chiefs should be kicking the tires on both players, and Chiefs fans have to hope that the team is aggressive in its pursuit of Winston in particular. He would make a major difference for the team’s right side.