After losing two key defenders to season-ending injuries in their Week 1 game, the Chiefs have moved quickly to start fortifying their defense. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (via Twitter), the team has agreed to sign defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson to a one-year deal.
Vickerson, 31, had spent the last four seasons with the Broncos, starting 41 of the 47 games he played for the team, including all all 11 contests he appeared in last year. A solid but unspectacular contributor on the line, Vickerson has typically performed better against the run than as a pass-rusher, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required).
A roster casualty during Denver’s cutdown to 53 players, Vickerson hit the free agent market at the end of the preseason, and visited the Bengals last week to audition for the team. While it appeared that the former seventh-round pick would ultimately sign with Cincinnati, the Chiefs were probably the more desperate team this week, following the Achilles injuries suffered by Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito.
With Johnson and DeVito both likely headed to IR, Kansas City shouldn’t have to cut anyone to create room on the roster for Vickerson.