The Kansas City Chiefs are officially on the board ahead of the NFL’s 2021 free agency period, starting things off by retaining one of their own.
According to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs have re-signed WR Marcus Kemp. The 25-year-old receiver first signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL draft. He has bounced around between the Chiefs’ practice squad and the 53-man roster ever since, with a brief stint on the Miami Dolphins practice squad this past season.
Kemp has been a standout on special teams for the Chiefs throughout his career, playing the gunner position on Dave Toub’s unit. He was trending toward a larger role on offense ahead of the 2019 NFL season, as one of the standouts at training camp. Unfortunately, he suffered a significant knee injury during the preseason which ended his year prematurely.
Kemp wouldn’t re-join the Chiefs until August ahead of the 2020 NFL season after he’d completely recovered from the knee injury. He appeared in a total of 10 games last season, with the majority of his work coming on special teams. He did catch one pass for 11 yards in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos.
With players like Demarcus Robinson and Sammy Watkins set to hit free agency, signing a veteran like Kemp is a smart move. He knows the system and that will only help the roster stay competitive during the offseason. The team already lost Anthony Sherman to retirement and others could leave as free agents. Perhaps Kemp can even recapture some of the success he saw on offense ahead of his injury and carve out a larger role for himself in 2021.
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