9:50am: The Chiefs have officially signed Branch, the team announced in a press release.
9:39am: Branch’s one-year deal could be worth up to $4MM, with a base value of about half that, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
9:34am: Former Raiders safety Tyvon Branch will be sticking in the AFC West, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that Branch has agreed to a one-year deal with the Chiefs. Oakland parted ways with the veteran safety last week.
Branch, who also visited the Colts and Washington, had been with the Raiders for seven seasons, although the strong safety missed all but five games during the past two years with injuries after starting all 62 of a possible 64 games in his previous four seasons. The 28-year-old carried by far the highest cap number on the Raiders’ roster at $9.7MM this season before his release.
For the Chiefs, Branch will come much cheaper than he did in Oakland, and it appears he could be a less expensive replacement for Ron Parker. Parker spent most of his time at strong safety last year for Kansas City, but he’s capable of moving around to different positions, including free safety, and Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets that the agreement with Branch won’t necessarily affect the Chiefs’ pursuit of Parker. Still, with Parker reportedly drawing plenty of interest around the league, I’d be surprised if Kansas City was able to re-sign him.