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Former Broncos First-Round Pick Works Out for Chiefs

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Getty Denver Broncos defensive end Shane Ray.

The Kansas City Chiefs continued evaluating talent in the NFL in the week following their loss in the AFC Championship Game.

The Chiefs brought in four players for tryouts on Friday, February 4: linebacker Shane Ray, defensive end Jonathan Woodard, tight end Josh Pederson, and defensive back Brandin Dandridge, per the NFL’s personnel notice.

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The most notable name among the players Kansas City worked out is Ray. Coming out of Missouri, Ray was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 23rd overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Denver drafted Ray with the hopes that he would create a consistent pass rush opposite of Von Miller. However, Ray was not successful in providing that for the Broncos’ defense. That’s why Denver let him walk when his rookie contract expired during the 2018 offseason.

The Baltimore Ravens signed Ray to a one-year deal in May of 2019,  per Pro Football Reference. However, he began training camp that year on the non-football injury list and was then cut on August 30. He then signed with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts in February of 2021.

Another notable name among the tryouts is Pederson. Josh Pederson is the son of the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Doug Pederson. Josh entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He briefly played for the San Francisco 49ers this past summer before being waived on August 4, and signed with the New Orleans Saints on August 7 but was waived again later in the month.

Chiefs Hire Former Jaguars Defensive Coordinator

Kansas City has already begun re-shaping its coaching staff for the 2022 season. The team announced on February 4 that they signed former Jaguars defensive coordinator Joe Cullen to the coaching staff as the defensive line coach. The Chiefs also announced that former defensive line coach Brendan Daly will now transition to being the team’s linebackers coach.

Cullen was been a coach in the NFL since 2006. He spent 14 seasons as a defensive line coach for the Detroit Lions, Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Jaguars, respectively. Cullen most recently spent the 2021 season coordinating the defense in Jacksonville, per Pro Football History. Adding him to Kansas City’s coaching staff will be a great addition, especially for a position on the Chiefs’ defense that was inconsistent this season.

Kafka Joining Forces With Giants

Among the shuffling that’s taken place on Kansas City’s coaching staff is the departure of quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka.

The New York Giants are “expected” to hire Kafka as their offensive coordinator, according to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport. A deal has not been finalized between Kafka and the Giants, but “that’s the way it’s headed,” per Garafolo.

Kafka is a former NFL quarterback and draft pick of the Andy Reid-led Philadelphia Eagles in 2010. He played in four games as a rookie, completing 11 of 16 pass attempts for 107 yards while also throwing two interceptions, per Pro Football Reference. Before hanging his cleats up in exchange for a clipboard, Kafka spent time with the New England Patriots, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, and Cincinnati Bengals from 2013-15 following his three-year stint with Reid in Philadelphia.

Starting as an offensive quality control coach in 2017, Kafka joined Kansas City’s coaching staff and worked his way into roles as a passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020.

As a coach that has held Patrick Mahomes under his wing since Mahomes was a rookie, losing Kafka will be a big loss for the Chiefs. Having a coach in Kafka’s position that has a strong relationship with the team’s starting quarterback is pivotal, making the departure of Kafka significant.

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The Chiefs can use some help in the pass-rush department, so they call upon Shane Ray, a former Day 1 draft pick in the AFC West to potentially help them in 2022.