Getty Arrowhead Stadium, where Armani Watts played for the last four seasons.
Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens recently got an opportunity to work out for an NFC squad in the midst of training camp.
Hitchens was one of four linebackers that worked out for the New Orleans Saints on Thursday, Aug. 4, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.
The New Orleans Saints are working out several veteran linebackers, including Anthony Hitchens, Jon Bostic and Kiko Alonso, per sources. Those three combine for 250-plus NFL starts. Alonso played for Saints in 2019.
The other linebackers that worked out for New Orleans were Kiko Alonso, Jon Bostic, and Chase Hansen.
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If Hitchens, 30, were to sign with the Saints, he would be reuniting with former Chiefs teammate and safety, Tyrann Mathieu, who joined New Orleans late in the offseason. However, New Orleans is expected to re-sign Alonso, who played for the Saints in 2019, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Aug. 4.
**Kiko Alonso announced his retirement from the NFL on Saturday, Aug. 6, according to Brooke Kirchhofer**
The last reported visit for Hitchens was back in April when he met with the Chicago Bears. But he didn’t come out of that meeting with a contract. With the Saints planning to re-sign Alonso, Hitchens will continue to wait for his chance to sign with another NFL team as training camp continues.
Chiefs Released Hitchens After Lackluster Tenure
One of the very first moves of the 2022 offseason for the Chiefs was releasing Hitchens on February 22. The move was an opportunity for the then cap-strapped Chiefs to free up cap space, as Hitchens’ release freed up $8.44 million in cap space, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap.
#chiefs create $8.44m in salary cap space with release of Anthony Hitchens
The move to release Hitchens made sense for Kansas City, as Hitchens hadn’t lived up to the five-year, $45 million contract he signed with the Chiefs in 2018.
Though Hitchens was always available — he missed just four games since joining Kansas City — and was a leader, he only recorded over 100 tackles in one season with the Chiefs and didn’t make a Pro Bowl in any of the four seasons. So, saying goodbye to the 29-year-old defender this offseason was warranted, especially given the emergence of 2021 second-round pick Nick Bolton.
General manager Brett Veach was appreciative of what Hitchens gave to the Chiefs over the last four seasons, however, despite the way it ended.
“When I first became general manager, one of the first moves I wanted to make was to bring in Anthony Hitchens from Dallas,” Veach said. “We knew how intelligent, hard-working and consistent he was as a player, and we knew he’d become a selfless leader. He was that and more. He has all the intangibles and was an integral piece in our franchise winning a Super Bowl title. We appreciate everything he’s done for the organization and wish him the best as he continues his career.”
Chiefs Cut Injured Veteran Defender
Chiefs defensive tackle Cortez Broughton, who was placed on the team’s active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list on July 26, was waived on July 27 and then reverted to the reserve/PUP list on July 28, was cut from the team with an injury settlement on Aug. 4, according to the transaction wire.
Chiefs cut Cortez Broughton with injury settlement
Broughton was mainly a practice squad body for the Chiefs during the 2021 season. He was promoted to the active roster for one game, which was in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He then signed a reserve/futures deal with the defending AFC West champions in February.