The Kansas City Chiefs have lost another contributor from their Super Bowl LIV team in free agency. This time it is linebacker Reggie Ragland according to a report from ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler.
One of the first moves that Brett Veach made when he took over for John Dorsey as general manager of the Chiefs was to acquire Ragland in trade, sending a fourth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills. Ragland came over to the Chiefs ahead of the 2017 NFL season after a rocky start to his career in Buffalo. Ragland tore his ACL during training camp in 2016 which caused him to miss the entire season.
Ragland was still in recovery mode when he first made it to Kansas City, but he ended up starting 10 games in the 2017 season and his future looked promising.
ILB Reggie Ragland has agreed to terms with the Detroit Lions, per source. Former first-round pick won Super Bowl with the Chiefs.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 27, 2020
When the Chiefs switched to a 4-3 defense under Steve Spagnuolo in 2019, many wondered if Ragland would still be a fit. He found himself starting in the fourth preseason game for Kansas City, an indication that he might be a candidate for roster cuts. After being made inactive through the first two games of the season, he finally began to see snaps in Week 3. Those snaps came on special teams, where he’d never previously played for the Chiefs.
Ragland kept his head down, adapted and worked, eventually earning the starting role as the SAM linebacker during the Chiefs’ championship season. He would go on to start seven games and appear in 14. He finished the season with 29 tackles, two sacks, four tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. He appeared in each of the three postseason games for Kansas City and drew the start in Super Bowl 54.
With Ragland officially leaving in free agency, the expectation is that Damien Wilson will take over the SAM linebacker spot.
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