Getty NFL linebacker Reggie Ragland with the Kansas City Chiefs before Super Bowl LIV.
The Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl class of 2019-20 has fallen on hard times.
Linebacker Reggie Ragland — a seven-game starter for KC that season and a consistent contributor throughout the playoff run — had been relegated to a practice squad role with the Las Vegas Raiders after signing there in early November. A fall from grace after starting opportunities with the Detroit Lions and New York Giants.
As fate would have it though, Ragland’s luck might be changing for the better.
Browns Poach Ex-Chiefs Super Bowl Champ From Raiders
The comeback tour is on — and it’s at the Raiders’ expense. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport tweeted out the news, informing: “The [Cleveland] Browns signed LB Reggie Ragland to their active roster from Raiders practice squad and placed LB Sione Takitaki on injured reserve with a torn ACL.”
With a 5-7 record and Deshaun Watson back in the fold at quarterback, the Browns are technically still “in the hunt” for the final AFC wildcard spot. The New York Jets currently hold that position at 7-5, and the only other teams with a better record are the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots at 6-6.
So in theory, this could be an opportunity for Ragland to get some playing time with an actual postseason contender for the first time since leaving the Chiefs. At 29 years of age, let’s see if the former Alabama product has anything left in the tank.
His last NFL appearance came with the Giants in 2021. He contributed in every game that season, registering 67 total tackles, two passes defended, and one quarterback hit.
Nick Bolton Takes Responsibility After Bengals Loss
Speaking of linebackers, the Chiefs’ current LB unit had a rough outing last weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals. Leader Nick Bolton spoke on the uncharacteristically poor performance from his group.
“Overall as a whole, I feel like we just didn’t tackle very well today,” Bolton told reporters after the game, “we can start there [in practice this week].”
“I feel like you’ve just gotta go back to the drawing board in terms of mid-target tackling, wrapping up, taking the body part to the ground, and gang tackling,” he continued. “We had a lot of tackle [attempts] that were a lot of one-on-ones in space and I feel like we [could] get a couple more guys to the ball, some of the little technique things we could clean up as well.”
It’s been a breakout campaign for Bolton in year two but Week 13 was an outlier for the typically consistent linebacker. Ironically, he set a season-high in single-game total tackles with 16, but tackles aren’t everything.
Bolton got shredded up in the passing game with seven receptions allowed for 69 yards — which was the second-highest yardage total allowed behind cornerback Joshua Williams. He also missed two tackles — one of which yielded a key first down late in the game — and looked generally lost and lethargic at times.
Watch Nick Bolton
His average depth of tackle (AVDT) was also higher than usual according to Pro Football Focus, at 6.2 yards allowed per tackle. On the season, Bolton’s AVDT hovered around 3.4 yards per tackle before this outing.
“We got a lot of things we can fix,” Bolton concluded. “It’s hard to correct things when you’re winning so [now] you can go back to the drawing board, we can build on things we did right and there [are] a lot of things we can clean up [so] we can be better off going down the stretch.”