Chiefs Bring in Ex-Seahawks Starting Offensive Lineman for Visit

With the Kansas City Chiefs just three days away from its NFL-record third consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance, the team hosted a trio of players for tryouts on Thursday.

As first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates and confirmed on the NFL’s official transaction report for January 21, the defending Super Bowl champions brought in two familiar faces — OL Darryl Williams and DB Rodney Clemons — and another not-so-familiar veteran OL Justin Britt.

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Britt Brings Experience & Versatility on Offensive Line

The most intriguing of the group is the newcomer Britt, who originally entered the league as a second-round draft pick (No. 64 overall) of the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. The 29-year-old free agent center has not played a snap this season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the opening drive of Week 8 win back in 2019.

The season-ending injury came two seasons into a three-year, $27 million contract extension signed in August 2017 to keep Britt in Seattle. The 6-foot-6, 315-pounder’s NFL resume boasts some pretty extensive experience with 86 starts in 87 career games, all with the Seahawks.

While he spent his four most recent seasons under center for QB Russell Wilson, the six-year veteran also has experience at both guard positions and right tackle from his earlier days. After a rocky start on the outside, Britt later earned a nod as a 2017 Pro Bowl alternate following his first full season at center. In total, he has registered 6,078 total career snaps to date.

Britt, who played his college ball at the University of Missouri, has documented his road to recovery on Instagram throughout the journey, such as this snapshot of him lifting weights from last August.

Assuming his medicals and overall visit checks out for Kansas City, Britt is a candidate for either a reserve/future deal or a potential practice squad spot. If the Chiefs were to advance to the Super Bowl for the second straight year, a practice squad role could leave the door open for Britt to suit up in the event of an emergency. Britt also has eight career playoff starts under his belt, including one at right tackle as a rookie in Super Bowl XLIX.

Williams, Clemons Are Candidates for Future Deals

As for Williams and Clemons, both undrafted rookies were released from the Chiefs practice squad last week. The former as a result to clear a spot for DE Austin Edwards while the latter was let go to make room for a pair of new signings: OT Prince Tega Wanagho and TE Evan Baylis.

Given the timing of the tryouts, it is likely that both could be retained on reserve/future contracts in the coming days to continue their development into the offseason. While Baylis is currently the only tight end on the practice squad, Tega Wanagho (and potentially Britt) is joined by veteran blockers Patrick Omameh and Bryan Witzmann.

In other Chiefs-related news, former 2018 second-round DL Breeland Speaks signed a reserve/future deal with the New York Giants on Thursday.

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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!