The Kansas City Chiefs made the tough decision to part ways with former 2018 second-round draft pick Breeland Speaks during Saturday’s roster cuts.
Just three seasons after he’d been drafted by Kansas City with the No. 46 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Speaks found himself placed on waivers. He was the first pick that Brett Veach made as general manager of the Chiefs. So what exactly caused things to get to this point? Why did the team decide to move on from Speaks? Veach spoke on the subject during Sunday’s media availability. He started by crediting the defensive line group as the deepest position group on the 53-man roster in 2020.
“That was certainly a unique scenario where, of all the positions – I certainly think we have a very good roster, a very talented roster – that defensive line position is probably our deepest position,” Veach said. “With Breeland, a different scheme from when he got here. I, and our staff, thought in his rookie year he did some things that you can really lay a foundation on. And we all know that he came in a little out of shape the next year, and then he had the injury. So, I think when you get behind the eight ball in professional football, it’s tough. And then when you get behind the eight ball on a roster with a deep defensive line, it’s even tougher. I will say this – credit to the kid – he did come in in shape and worked hard to get that weight off. Again, he was just up against a very deep and talented defensive line class.”
There were a number of issues compounding Speaks’ early success in the league. He was playing in the 3-4 scheme and out of position to start in Kansas City. Then he showed up to training camp the following year and he was a bit overweight. The final issue with Speaks seemed to be in his recovery from his 2019 season-ending knee injury. He’s healthy, but still apparently working back to form after not playing football for an entire calendar year.
“I think, to your question, guys certainly handle rehab situations differently and how they come back,” Veach explained. “Everyone kind of progresses at different rates. And listen, without having any medical documentation in front me, I would say that bigger people – offensive linemen, defensive linemen – are probably a little bit slower to come back in regards to skill players, running backs, receivers, safeties, what have you. But again, you go back to the scenario in which we were in. He came into camp and had lost weight and was healthy and I think he was able to practice throughout the course of the preseason and he worked hard to put himself in that position, so when guys are ready to go, we defer to the medical expertise of our staff and we let them go out there and compete and see how everything shakes out. Again, it certainly did put him behind the eight ball in that regard. Not having a year of football is certainly going to be tough, and then when you throw in the factor of having (Frank) Clark and Tanoh (Kpassagnon) and (Alex) Okafor, Taco (Charlton) had a good camp, obviously he made the roster, and Mike Danna had a really good camp, so it was just one of those scenarios for him where having the year off, having to go through a lengthy rehab process and going out there competing against that deep defensive line was a tough ask. He competed his tail off and I’m sure he’ll learn a lot from this experience here and it will help him in the future.”
The depth the Chiefs acquired at the defensive end position allowed for a competitive training camp. Rather than holding onto a player for too long because of draft status, Veach and his staff chose to go with the best players. It’s a tried and true strategy for winning football teams.
“Our staff, both coaching and personnel staff, we’re always committed to doing what we feel is best for the team and playing the best players,” Veach said. “And the guys that are on our active roster, we felt that day-by-day and the way they graded out, they just performed better and they deserve to be on the team.”
Speaks was not claimed on waivers following his release from Kansas City. He wasn’t among those signed to the Chiefs’ practice squad and he’s yet to find another team.
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