FEATURE STORIES

CHIEFS IMPROVE WITH TRADES, FREE AGENTS

By Amanda Kane
University Communications

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed free agents and acquired other players through trades and several of those individuals will be key additions to the team this year.

The Chiefs summer training camp at UW-River Falls will give the team’s coaches an opportunity to see how those new players will fit into the team’s offensive and defensive schemes. 

Quarterback Matt Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel were brought in with trades from New England while safety Mike Brown, wide receiver Bobby Engram, linebacker Zach Thomas, and guard Mike Goff were signed as free agents. All six players have shown that they have the skills to become key players for the Chiefs in 2009.
Both Cassel and Vrabel were traded to the Chiefs in exchange for a 2009 second-round pick (34th overall - used on S Patrick Chung) from New England.

Cassel had a breakout season in 2008. His patience paid off after three non-descript seasons with New England where he was the backup to All-World quarterback Tom Brady. Even during his collegiate days at USC he didn’t play much. He played in just 25 games while playing backup to Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. He threw only 64 passes in four years at USC. But, he has used his time wisely learning from some outstanding coaches and quarterbacks ahead of him. And, that paid off in 2008.

After years of standing in two-time Super Bowl MVP Brady’s shadow, Cassel had the opportunity to step in after Brady’s opening day injury. Even though he had not stared in a contest under center since his senior year in high school, Cassel guided New England to a 19-10 victory in his first NFL start in a road contest at New York against the Jets. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week accolades on two occasions and was also name to USA Today’s All-Joe Team. Cassel has played in 30 regular season games, starting in 14 of them and has completed 349 out of 555 passes (62.9%) for 3,946 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, providing him with an 88.2 rating. With the rate of his success in the 2008 season, he joined quarterback Drew Bledsoe as the only other player in Patriots history to record two 400-yard passing games in a single season and became the fifth player in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in back-to-back games.

Beginning his fifth season, Cassel will be the Chiefs starting quarterback under first-year Coach Todd Haley.
Vrabel attended Ohio State University. Walter Camp and the American Football Coaches Association named him first-team All-America when he was a senior in 1996. Vrabel also set school career records at Ohio State with 36 sacks and 66 tackles for loss. He originally entered the NFL through Pittsburg as a third-round pick, which was the 91st overall pick in 1997. Vrabel played for Pittsburgh from 1997-2000 and played in a total of 51 contests. He registered 43 tackles (31 solo), seven sacks (-35 yards), one pass defended, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He also played in two postseason contests with the Steelers.

Vrabel signed with New England as an unrestricted free agent from Pittsburgh in 2001. There he played in 125 games, starting in 110. He had 638 tackles (433 solo), 48 sacks (-300.5 yards), 11 interceptions and 34 passes defended. He also forced 13 fumbles, five fumble recoveries and 10 quarterback pressures. Last season, Vrabel played in 16 games, while starting in 14 times. His highlights include 67 tackles (36 solo), four sacks (-23 yards), 10 quarterback pressures, an interception, four passes defended, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Vrabel begins his 13th season in the NFL with the Chiefs.

A key free agent signed is Brown. Brown attended the University of Nebraska, ending his football career there with 287 career tackles, which is the second-highest amount of career tackles in the school’s history.

Beginning his 10th season in the NFL, Brown played the last nine years with the Chicago Bears starting in 99 of his 100 appearances. He had five forced fumbles, 37 passes defended, nine tackles for loss, 30 special team tackles, and a blocked field goal. He returned four interceptions for touchdowns.  Brown earned a Pro Bowl berth after the 2005 season and has also started in two postseason games for Chicago and had six tackles. His experience will be an important ingredient for the Chiefs secondary this year.

Engram begins his 14th NFL campaign as wide receiver after joining Kansas City as an unrestricted agent from Seattle and is known for his leadership on the field and in the locker room. He attended Penn State, where he started in 33 of 45 games, catching 167 passes for a school-record of 3,026 yards (18.1 avg.) with 31 touchdowns. Engram was named second-team All-America and first-team All-Big Ten. His NFL career began with Chicago when he was selected as a second-round draft pick in 1996 and then signed with Seattle in 2001.

Entering his first campaign with the Chiefs, Engram ranks 12th among active players with 645 career receptions while his 7,690 receiving yards are 18th of players who saw duty in 2008. Engram registered his first 1,000-yard season in 2007 and has posted eight career 100-yard games. He has started in 113 of 171 games and has started in seven of nine postseason contests.

Thomas joins Kansas City as an unrestricted free agent from Dallas where he played one campaign, and played his first 12 seasons of his NFL career with Miami. Miami selected Thomas in the fifth-round of the 1996 draft, 154th overall pick. He has started in 182 of the 184 games. During his one campaign with Dallas, he was ranked second on the team with 177 tackles (81 solo) with three tackles for loss.

In his career with Miami from 1996-2007, Thomas started in 168 games and recorded 1,866 tackles (1,244 solo), 19.5 sacks (-138 yards) and 17 interceptions for 170 yards with four touchdowns. He also played in eight postseason games, registering 92 tackles (70 solo), a sack (-9 yards), four passes defended, and one fumble recovery.

Goff began his career in the NFL with Cincinnati in 1998 as the 78th overall pick in the draft. He signed as an unrestricted free agent with San Diego in 2004 and now joins Kansas City as an unrestricted free agent for the 2009 campaign. He has a streak of starting in 106 consecutive regular season games dating back to 2002.