If you don’t remember Martrell Spaight ever taking the field for the Kansas City Chiefs, you’re not alone.
After signing a future/reserve contract with the team in January 2019, the veteran linebacker abruptly retired from the league just four months later. Despite not taking an NFL snap in nearly two seasons, Kansas City has maintained the rights to Spaight ever since, placing him on the reserve/retired list in May 2019.
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On Tuesday, the Chiefs released Spaight from the roster, according to the NFL’s transaction report.
Here’s more about what the move means for Spaight and the team, via Chiefs Wire:
Spaight’s release from the reserve/retired list signals that he wishes to return to football and seek new opportunities in the league. Since he retired while under contract with Kansas City, they owned his rights and had to grant his release in order for him to sign with another team.
Unfortunately, this is merely a formality for the Chiefs. It won’t benefit them in any way or free up a roster spot. It was, however, the right thing to do for a player hoping to revitalize his career.
Spaight’s Early Career Offered Mixed Bag of Results
The Arkansas native was originally drafted in the fifth round (No. 141 overall) by the Washington Redskins in 2015 before suffering a concussion in his first career game that landed him on the injured reserve list and cut his rookie season short. The 26-year-old went on to play 29 games (7 starts) over the next two seasons in Washington, racking up 104 total tackles, 3 pass breakups and an interception.
Martrell Spaight had the highest impact play rate among LBs in 2017!
Spaight was cut from the Redskins’ roster in September 2018, but went on to spend the remainder of the 2018 season in Florida after being scooped up by the Miami Dolphins later in the month. He played in four contests for the Dolphins before being cut again, then signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars before they, too, cut him loose in late December after only three games.
Chiefs 2020 Linebacker Corps to Feature a Rookie?
Fortunately for Kansas City, there wasn’t much turnover up the middle of the Steve Spagnuolo’s defense during the offseason. The biggest loss from the linebacker group came during the final week of March when fourth-year LB Reggie Ragland signed a one-year, $1.04 million contract with the Detroit Lions. One month later, the Chiefs invested back into the position, spending their No. 63 overall second-round pick on Mississippi State LB Willie Gay Jr.
During availability with the media on Tuesday, Spagnuolo elaborated on what the rookie’s role could be next season.
“We’ll probably begin with Willie [Gay Jr.] at one of the outside positions,” Spagnuolo told reporters. “We think, without knowing right away — We’re hopeful, I should say that he would replace what Reggie Ragland did for us last year. Now again, I preface that by saying we won’t know that until we get him.”
The 26-year-old Ragland, who was also a second-round draft choice back in 2016, played significant snaps for the Chiefs over the past three seasons, accumulating 160 total tackles over 42 games (32 starts), including seven starts last season. Cut from a similar cloth as the former Alabama star, the team now hopes Gay can jump in behind starters Damien Wilson and Anthony Hitchens in 2020.
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Chiefs Release Veteran Linebacker After Abrupt Retirement in 2019