New York Jets offensive tackle Grant Hermanns seals off the blindside with Purdue in 2020.
It’s a crazy concept when you think about it. After overanalyzing every roster spot all summer and agonizing over potential cuts, NFL general managers often pivot to waivers and claim up talented players that have slipped through the cracks — in effect releasing more bubble candidates than initially anticipated.
The Kansas City Chiefs could certainly be among those “players” on the waiver wire this week, although they find themselves at the low-end of the order based on the 2021 season. Having said that, there’s still some wiggle room on the roster for a move or two to be made, and one area to bulk up could be at offensive tackle.
Jets OT Grant Hermanns Is ‘Worth Looking Into’
USA Today Sports media member Charles Goldman of Chiefs Wire suggested New York Jets offensive tackle Grant Hermanns as a cut candidate to keep an eye on. He reasoned:
A former teammate of Chiefs rookie DE George Karlaftis at Purdue, Hermanns is a towering tackle at 6-7 and 305 pounds. Through two preseason games, Hermanns has surrendered just one pressure on 28 pass-blocking snaps according to PFF. He also posted a 72.6 run-blocking grade… If the Chiefs are looking for another option at tackle outside of Geron Christian and Prince Tega Wanogho, Hermanns is someone worth looking into.
Hermanns is only 24 years of age and the former Boilermaker co-captain spent his rookie campaign on the NYJ practice squad. The Jets have also loaded up on offensive linemen under general manager Joe Douglas, making the Purdue product a projected cut once again despite his versatility at OT and guard — not to mention the promising summer that Goldman detailed above.
With Lucas Niang still sidelined, the Chiefs are much thinner at O-tackle and could look to upgrade on someone like Wanogho or Christian before the season begins. After all, Andrew Wylie is the expected starting right tackle and he wasn’t exactly tremendous in 2021.
Hermanns has no regular-season experience and would not be brought in to start, but he would make for an interesting developmental piece for OL coach Andy Heck to get his hands on. There’s also the Karlaftis connection to provide some inside information on the absolute warrior that KC would be getting.
Hermanns Overcame Life-Threatening Infection
In an exclusive from NYJ beat reporter Dennis Waszak Jr. of the Associated Press, Hermanns opened up on a rare life-threatening staph infection that “ravaged his body” a few years before his rookie season.
“Grant Hermanns knew something was seriously wrong with his body,” Waszak wrote in 2021, “The rapid weight loss. The dangerously high fevers. The overwhelming fatigue. They were all ominous signs, but no one could figure out what was ailing the offensive lineman. Hermanns and his family were stumped, and so were his doctors.”
The youngster told Waszak that he was “fighting for [his] life.” He continued: “I started getting these weird fevers. I would be at 104 degrees just randomly or I’d go all the way down to 94, a sub-fever. And it would happen all the time, like every other day. I’d be falling asleep in class, just covered in sweat. My parents didn’t know what was going on and they took me to the doctor multiple times. The doctor said, ‘You’re fine, nothing’s wrong.’ They tested my white cell count and they couldn’t find anything.”
Finally, after extreme weight loss and a liver issue, an MRI found a “pomegranate”-sized cyst that likely began as an untreated staph infection. A “one in a million” illness that could have killed him if he was a few years older and almost did anyway.
After an emergency surgery and a long road of recovery — which involved learning how to walk again — Waszak told readers that Hermanns is living out his dream with the Jets, and blocking hulking NFL athletes in the process.
“I feel I got a second chance at life,” Hermanns voiced to AP. “It kind of opened my family’s eyes up, and mine, that all the time we have together is so precious for every one of us. You have to spend it very well and very wisely because it could be gone in an instant.”
That’s the type of fighter you want in the trenches.