Tag: deon yelder

Chiefs won’t tender restricted free agent TE Deon Yelder

Yelder spent the last three seasons as a backup tight end and special teamer in Kansas City.

The Kansas City Chiefs won’t be tendering a restricted free agent who has been on the 53-man roster during each of the past three seasons.

Chiefs restricted free agent TE Deon Yelder will not be tendered a contract offer as first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Kansas City Star beat writer Herbie Teope confirmed the report.

Yelder originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Western Kentucky with the New Orleans Saints in 2018. He failed to make their 53-man roster cuts or latch on with their practice squad. This created an opportunity for him to join Kansas City, a team he’d taken a top-30 visit with ahead of the draft.

Yelder was first signed to the Chiefs’ practice squad in October of 2018 and was elevated to the 53-man roster just two weeks later. The former college walk-on has been the No. 3 tight end in Kansas City ever since his elevation, appearing in 26 games while starting in two games during that span.

Yelder had an audition in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers this season, but only caught 2-of-6 targets for six yards. He’ll finish his Chiefs career with 10 catches on 15 targets for 86 yards. He was known primarily for his ability as a run-blocker and his play on special teams during his time in Kansas City.

Yelder is one of five restricted free agents that the Chiefs will need to make decisions on in the coming days ahead of the NFL’s free agency period which begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on March 17.

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Chiefs designate TE Deon Yelder to return from injured reserve

Yelder could make his return to the 53-man roster ahead of Super Bowl LV.

The Kansas City Chiefs look to be getting some reinforcements ahead of Super Bowl LV.

On Monday, the Chiefs designated TE Deon Yelder to return from injured reserve according to the NFL’s official transaction report. Yelder suffered a groin injury during the team’s Week 17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve ahead of the start of the playoffs, one of a flurry of transactions prior to facing the Cleveland Browns in the divisional round.

Designating Yelder to return opens up a 21-day window for him to participate in practice with the team. Obviously, with only Super Bowl LV against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers remaining, he won’t exactly utilize that entire window. The Chiefs can now activate him to the 53-man roster at any time ahead of the big game.

Yelder will provide the Chiefs with even more depth at the tight end position and on special teams. Besides Travis Kelce, Yelder is the best run-blocking tight end that the Chiefs currently have on the team. He’s also impressed at times over the past two years as a pass-catcher. He had a very important 12-yard catch against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16 and had a big game against the Detroit Lions in 2019.

Kansas City should have an easy answer to finding space on the 53-man roster should Yelder be ready to return ahead of the Super Bowl. Injuries to both Willie Gay Jr. and Eric Fisher have yet to be addressed in terms of moves sending those two players to injured reserve, but they likely will be addressed before the week is over.

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4 Chiefs players who deserve more playing time after the bye week

These four players for the Kansas City Chiefs need to see the field more often after the bye week.

The Kansas City Chiefs are on a Week 10 bye, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t hard at work. The coaching staff in Kansas City are all reviewing the tape from the season and doing self-evaluations of their respective units. They’re looking at what the team can do to improve following the bye week. Some of that improvement will occur on the scheme side of things, but fans can expect to see some personnel changes moving forward too.

With that in mind, here’s a look at four players who deserve more playing time after the bye week:

Replacing TE Blake Bell a necessity for Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs used 12 personnel (two tight end sets) on over 30 percent of their plays in 2019.

Kansas City Chiefs fans might not initially look at Blake Bell’s role during the 2019 season and think much of it.

Bell played in a total of 18 games with the Chiefs in 2019, including the playoffs, starting seven of those games. He caught 11-of-18 passes for 91 yards, scoring his first career touchdown during the comeback win over the Texans in the playoffs. Four of his 11 receptions went for first down conversions.

At face value, Bell’s production looks entirely mundane and replaceable, but the role he played in Chiefs’ offense was vital. He was primarily utilized as a blocker for 12 personnel groupings in Kansas City. The Chiefs lined up in 12 personnel on over 30 percent of their offensive snaps in 2019, which is good for the fourth-most in the NFL.

The big realization from NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah here is that the five teams using this personnel grouping the most made it to the playoffs. Now there’s certainly more to the success of Chiefs than 12 personnel usage. And while Blake Bell is part of those groupings, he’s obviously not the only reason they’re successful. But that’s not to say the team doesn’t need to find an adequate replacement for Bell.

Including the playoffs, Bell played over 400 snaps as an inline blocker in 12 personnel looks for the Chiefs. During those snaps, Bell only allowed very few pressures in pass protection. As a run blocker, he wasn’t quite as successful with just a 57.7 run-blocking grade per PFF.

Bell, of course, left in free agency to join the Dallas Cowboys. So who do the Chiefs have tabbed to replace Bell in the 2020 season? They brought in free agent TE Ricky Seals-Jones, who is undoubtedly more of a threat as a receiver to Bell. He’s coming off of a career-high four touchdown season in 2019 with the Browns. Seals-Jones is also a better pass-blocker than he is a run blocker with grades above 70 in each of the past two seasons per PFF.

Returning from 2019 the Chiefs have Deon Yelder, who spent the season on the 53-man roster, but failed to do much besides play on special teams. Nick Keizer spent the entire season on the practice squad after a standout preseason performance in 2019, posting grades over 70 in each of receiving, pass blocking and run blocking per PFF. There’s also the dark horse in converted QB John Lovett, who played more of an H-back role for the Chiefs before landing on injured reserve with a shoulder injury during the 2019 preseason.

Kansas City has options and until they see the field it’s hard to determine who has the advantage right now. One thing is for certain for the Chiefs, if they’re to continue using 12 personnel at such a high rate, they must find a suitable replacement option. If they’re lucky they might even be able to find a player out of the bunch that is considered to be an upgrade over Bell.

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Chiefs ERFA’s Andrew Wylie, Deon Yelder sign contract tenders

A pair of contributors are expected to be back for the 2020 NFL season after they signed their exclusive rights free agent tenders with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Two players made their return to the Kansas City Chiefs official on Monday.

Both Andrew Wylie and Deon Yelder signed their exclusive rights free agent tenders, according to the NFL’s transaction report. If you’re unfamiliar with ERFA’s, they are veteran free agents that have yet to accrue three seasons in the NFL. If they’re tendered a contract offer by a team, they can’t refuse the offer. That means both of these signings we’re only a matter of time once they were originally reported in early March.

Wylie was formerly the starter at left guard for the Chiefs, winning the Mack Lee Hill Award in his first year with the team. In 2019, he dealt with injuries throughout the season, losing his starting spot to veteran Stefen Wisniewski. Without Wisniewski in the fold, the 27-year-old should be right back in the mix to become a starter in 2020.

Yelder was a tight end the Chiefs were interested in the 2018 NFL Draft, but he opted to sign with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. Yelder briefly joined the Chiefs’ practice squad in 2018 and was quickly elevated to the 53-man roster. He played 47 offensive snaps for the Chiefs in 2019 and started in one of the nine games he appeared in. He should have an opportunity to compete in 2020, with the departure of Blake Bell in free agency.

With both players going into their third credited season, each contract tender is expected to be around $750K for the 2020 NFL Season.

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Report: Chiefs tender contract offer to TE Deon Yelder

Another exclusive rights free agent will return to the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2020 season according to a new report.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have locked up another of their four exclusive rights free agents.

According to The Athletic’s Nate Taylor, ERFA tight end Deon Yelder has been tendered a contract by the Chiefs. Earlier, we learned that OG Andrew Wylie had also been tendered a qualifying contract by the team.

If you’re unfamiliar with ERFA’s, they are veteran free agents that have yet to accrue three seasons in the NFL. An accrued season is any season in which a player was on the roster, injured reserve or the PUP list for at least six games. ERFA’s are only permitted to negotiate with their original team and if they’re tendered a contract they cannot refuse it. If they’re not tendered a contract they become unrestricted free agents.

Yelder played in nine games for the Chiefs in 2019, starting one game. He looked primed for a breakout after catching two receptions for 43 yards against the Detroit Lions in Week 4. That breakout never came for Yelder.

He could be due for a larger role with the potential departure of TE Blake Bell in free agency. Yelder is a player that the Chiefs liked a lot ahead of the 2018 NFL draft. He was among the players that took a top-30 visit with the team ahead of the draft. He ultimately signed with the New Orleans Saints before coming to Kansas City as a free agent in 2018.

Who was emergency OL for Chiefs in Week 10 against Titans?

We now know who would have played if the Kansas City Chiefs needed an emergency offensive lineman vs. the Tennessee Titans

The Kansas City Chiefs suffered some attrition along the offensive line late in the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans in Week 10.

Back-to-back injuries occurred at the right tackle position that left the Chiefs dangerously thin along the offensive line. First, starting right tackle Mitchell Schwartz suffered an injury, which ended his long consecutive snap streak. A play later, it was left guard Martinas Rankin who had shifted to right tackle. He was injured on his first snap at the position.

Kansas City only had seven offensive linemen dressed to play on Sunday. Starting left tackle Eric Fisher and starting right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif were both ruled out ahead of the game. With the two injuries to Schwartz and Rankin, the Chiefs would be faced with an emergency situation had they suffered another injury.

So who would have been the emergency backup offensive lineman for the Chiefs had they suffered an injury? Andy Reid let us in on the doomsday plan during his Monday conference call.

“It would be one of the tight ends,” Reid said via 810 Sports Radio’s Soren Petro.

Reid didn’t exactly say which tight end it would be for the Chiefs, so you’ll have to use your imagination on that. Blake Bell would stand to reason, given his usage in blocking scenarios, but he was also banged up with an ankle injury. Travis Kelce is the most veteran tight end on the team and probably the most comfortable with the blocking schemes.

Luckily, the Chiefs didn’t have to try this out. Schwartz was able to return to the game after just a few snaps. I have a feeling this scenario would be much less enjoyable to watch than seeing emergency third-string QB Anthony Sherman run the Chiefs offense, which could have happened in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos.