Getty Former Kansas City Chiefs guard Kelechi Osemele with the Raiders in 2016.
The NFL’s nickname is the “not-for-long” league for a reason. When players struggle or miss time with injury, they often get replaced by someone younger and cheaper.
For former All-Pro guard, Kelechi Osemele, the 2021 campaign was a lost season after five starts with the Kansas City Chiefs the year before. It was the accomplished blocker’s ninth season in the aforementioned not-for-long league, and many thought it was his last.
Today on September 1, Osemele attempted to rewrite that narrative.
Osemele Works out for Bears
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport was the first on the story. “Interesting workout today,” he tweeted. “Veteran and versatile OL Kelechi Osemele worked out with the [Chicago] Bears, I’m told. Comeback?”
Interesting workout today: Veteran and versatile OL Kelechi Osemele worked out with the #Bears, I’m told. Comeback?
That final word is the right one from Rapoport. The last anyone saw Osemele he was being carted into the locker room after a non-contact injury. It turned out that the long-time guard tore tendons in each knee — a devasting blow that instantly ended his season and potentially, his career.
As NFL draft analyst Matt Miller noted, there is a connection to Chicago through general manager Ryan Poles, who was working as a higher-up with Kansas City in 2020.
#Bears working out Kelechi Osemele, who didn’t play in 2021 but has experience with Ryan Poles from his 2020 season with the Chiefs.
Strapped for cap space and talent, Poles is entertaining every avenue at his disposal right now — a trait he learned from Chiefs GM Brett Veach.
As far as fliers go, Osemele is a notable one. He started all 101 appearances of his illustrious career that began in Baltimore and logged over 7,000 total snaps. There, he won a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens but had his two Pro Bowl seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, one of which earned first-team All-Pro honors.
The NFL community should know pretty quickly whether or not Osemele’s workout went well. A signing means it did, while silence could snuff out all hope of a 2022 return.
Chiefs IOL as Good as It Gets
At the time of Osemele’s one-year deal, the Chiefs needed some help on the interior. That’s no longer the case after Veach dished out big money to bring in veteran Joe Thuney the following offseason.
KC also hit the jackpot on draft picks Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Just like that, the Chiefs upgraded their entire interior offensive line in a span of two months.
After another strong training camp, the trio appears to be one of the more underrated aspects of this Kansas City team. Much of Patrick Mahomes’ success has come without a dominant O-line.
They’ve had great pieces, don’t get me wrong. Mitchell Schwartz was a top-tier right tackle when Mahomes first entered the league and his counterpart on the opposite bookend, Eric Fisher, had a few above-average campaigns as well.
But Mahomes has never truly had a top-three blocking unit in front of him and one could argue that the 2022 group is his best yet if KC could only find a way to shore up the right tackle position. With Orlando Brown Jr. getting more and more accustomed to the blindside, that’s the clear weak link of this unit.
Add in a stable of talented running backs and a fresh batch of wide receivers and this offense is set up pretty well to help the quarterback, despite trading superstar Tyreek Hill. That’s the benefit of spreading the money around — balance equals production.