Free Agent Invitational

May 03, 2008, 9:04:38 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

Call it the Herm Edwards Invitational.

In essence, that’s what the Chiefs are holding this weekend at the Truman Sports Complex.

It’s really not so much a mini-camp for Chiefs rookies. It’s more of a session that fits under the category of when a team finishes 4-12 it turns over every rock it can to find talent.

In the NFL personnel chain there’s free agency, the waiver wire, the Draft and “out there” guys. The last group is made up of players who fell between the cracks during the draft, or went to training camp one year with an NFL team and were released.

It’s how Edwards got into the NFL. Coming out of San Diego State following the 1976 college season, he was good enough to play in some of the post-season all-star games, but he was not considered talented enough to be drafted. There were 335 players selected in the ‘77 Draft; Edwards wasn’t one of them, signing as a free agent with the Eagles and playing 10 seasons in the league.

Edwards has never forgotten those roots. He got the opportunity more than 30 years ago. He’s offering another generation the same chance.

“I tell them all, go out and make a play,” Edwards said. “Then come back the next practice and make a play. Then make one tomorrow. You string together some plays and you’ll get noticed.

“We’re the only team doing this. It’s a camp that is all rookies, no draft choices. We did it for a reason, to give guys an opportunity. This is the direction we’re headed in. There might be one or two who slipped through the cracks and that we didn’t sign in free agency. They might be leaving here with a contract.

“This is their chance.”

For some of the 67 players who took part in Friday’s morning and afternoon workouts, this might be the only chance they get to impress the decision makers for an NFL team. That’s why the Chiefs 12 draft choices selected last weekend were nowhere to be found on Friday afternoon at the team’s workout facility. None of the team’s veteran players were involved in the practices at all.

“We took the draft choices out of the equation because if your draft choices come the first thing your coaches do is line them up first and coach them the whole time and don’t worry about the rest of the guys,” said Edwards. “This way you just look at the players. They (the coaches) don’t even know who has contracts or not which is even better.”

Among the group of 67 players there were 23 who have already signed a contract with the Chiefs. The other 44 players took part on a tryout basis. That group included 35 rookies and nine first-year players.

Of that group of 67, all but two were players never drafted by an NFL team. Big offensive tackle Ken Shackleford was a sixth-round choice last year by St. Louis. Wide receiver Kevin McMahan was a seventh-round pick of the Raiders and the last player selected in the 2006 Draft.

The rest never got the draft call. They are in town this weekend with only the hope of getting a contract and a potential ticket to River Falls and training camp. Among the 16 defensive backs was Tony Tiller, a 26-year old veteran of the Canadian Football League. He has 10 interceptions in three seasons north of the border.

Also in that group was Rob Rodriquez out of Christopher Newport University, who in his career with the Captains blocked 10 kicks, grabbed nine interceptions and scored four touchdowns. Rodriquez is the first player from his school to get any kind of shot at playing in the NFL. Oh, by the way Christopher Newport is in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

Among the offensive players was tight end Rodney Burgess out of Coastal Carolina, at 6-3, 260 pounds. He played there with Chiefs quarterback Tyler Thigpen during the 2006 college season.

The guy who kept making plays in the Friday afternoon practice was linebacker LeRue Rumph out of North Carolina State. One play he burst through the blocking and made a touch tackle in the backfield. The next segment, he was dropping into coverage and making an interception.

Rumph was not drafted last weekend, after playing in 44 games for the Wolfpack. He got on the Chiefs radar screen because he played at Clearwater Central Catholic High School with Marcus Edwards, the team’s pro personnel assistant and son of the head coach.

“He got himself on film,” Edwards said after the workout. “He made some plays. Now, he has to do it again.

“We’ll see what they do tomorrow. That’s what you want. The one thing you do know about a guy like that: every day is important to him.”

The head coach knows the feeling.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.