A former highly drafted Kansas City Chiefs safety is attempting to make an NFL comeback — but it’s not Eric Berry. According to NFL reporter Dov Kleiman, former Chiefs second-round pick Bernard Pollard has unretired and is making a serious bid to return to the gridiron next season.
“Just spoke with former Ravens, Chiefs Safety Bernard Pollard,” Kleiman tweeted on Friday. “The Super Bowl champ is coming out of retirement after 6 seasons away from the NFL. He’ll play at 220 pounds. He’s healthy and looking forward for the challenge of competing. He’s already spoken with KC about a return.”
In a follow-up tweet, Kleiman also noted that despite the Chiefs re-signing veteran safety Daniel Sorensen to a new one-year deal on March 23, the team has told Pollard that “they’ll get back to him in the near future.”
@c0ryt They decided to re-sign Daniel Sorensen instead but they told him they’ll get back to him in the near future.
Pollard first revealed his communication with Kansas City on Twitter on Wednesday.
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Pollard Posted Workout Videos on Twitter This Week
The Purdue product first entered the league in 2006 with the Chiefs, where he spent his first three seasons racking up 199 combined tackles, nine pass breakups, four forced fumbles and three interceptions across 48 games (31 starts). He led the team in tackles during a dismal 2-14 campaign in 2008 before being cut on September 5, 2009 — eight days before Kansas City’s season opener.
He went on to spend two seasons with the Houston Texans (2009-10), two with the Baltimore Ravens (2011-12) and two with the Tennessee Titans (2013-14) and helped the Ravens secure a victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII in 2012-13.
Overall, the hard-hitting safety boasts 712 total tackles, 49 pass breakups, 12 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and 10.5 sacks on his pro resume. Now 36 years old, Pollard hasn’t taken an NFL snap since Week 5 of the 2014 season, his last game before a ruptured Achilles tendon ended his year, and ultimately his career.
Earlier this week, Pollard tweeted out a pair of indoor workout videos to his more than 50,000 Twitter followers with the hashtag #TheReturn.
All I can do is control me. #NFL #TheReturn
I refuse to allow my focus to be broken. #Grind is all I know. #NFL #TheReturn
One video even drew the support of former Ravens and Titans teammate Michael Oher, who replied, “99.9% of these clowns never was the best in the world at what they did!! Keep going!! !! !!”
Chiefs Announce 8 Coaching Changes for 2021
On Friday, the Chiefs revealed eight changes to the club’s 2021 coaching staff, including the addition of three new faces:
- Greg Lewis – running backs coach.
- Joe Bleymaier – wide receivers coach.
- David Girardi – pass game analyst/assistant quarterbacks coach.
- Connor Embree – offensive quality control.
- Terry Bradden Jr. – assistant defensive line coach.
- Ken Flajole – outside linebackers coach (new).
- Donald D’Alesio – defensive assistant (new).
- Tyler Judkins – assistant strength and conditioning coach (new).
Among the most notable moves were the promotions of Lewis, formerly the wide receivers coach from 2017-20, and Bleymaier, the pass game analyst and assistant quarterbacks coach last season.
The new arrivals are headlined by Flajole, who replaces Britt Reid after his contract was not renewed following a life-threatening crash just days before Super Bowl LV. Flajole most recently coached the Philadelphia Eagles linebacking corps for the past five years and has a close connection to Steve Spagnuolo, having served as his defensive coordinator with the then-St. Louis Rams between 2009-11.
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Chris Licata is an NFL contributor covering the Kansas City Chiefs from enemy territory in Denver, Colorado. Follow him on Twitter @Chris__Licata or join the Heavy on Chiefs Facebook community for the latest out of Chiefs Kingdom!
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Ex-Chiefs Safety Unretires, Drawing Interest After 6 Years Away: Report