Say it again, Herm

Jun 24, 2008, 2:19:51 AM by Jonathan Rand - FAQ

You can be excused if you’re weary of hearing that Herm Edwards is rebuilding the Chiefs with youth. His repetition makes it all the more astonishing that some still haven’t gotten the message.

Every time an NFL veteran at a Chiefs’ position of uncertainty is seeking a new home, some on-line analyst suggests that the Chiefs should be interested.

The last thing the Chiefs need right now is a big-name player near the end of the line to compete for playing time with recent draft choices who need immediate opportunities to shine.

First, it was suggested the Chiefs might replace traded sacks champion Jared Allen with Jason Taylor. The Dolphins’ six-time Pro Bowl pass rusher has been at odds with the new Bill Parcells regime and probably could be had for a first- or second-round draft choice.

Considering that Taylor turns 34 in September, plans to play just one more year and would like to finish his career with a contender, Kansas City would have to rank among the least likely places for him to land.

Same goes for discarded quarterbacks. It was suggested on SI.com last week that because the Chiefs are still looking for answers at quarterback, they should be among the teams looking at Daunte Culpepper or Byron Leftwich.

The Dolphins released Culpepper last summer to make way for Trent Green, a veteran whom the Chiefs no longer wanted. Culpepper also was cut after playing for the Raiders, and the Chiefs won’t move up in the AFC West by taking a quarterback whom a division rival did not want.

Leftwich, too, was cut twice last season – by the Jaguars, who not long ago considered him their franchise quarterback, and the Falcons, who were desperate for quarterback help after Michael Vick was suspended by the NFL.

You could argue, of course, that these veterans are more accomplished than the Chiefs’ likely starter, Brodie Croyle, or Tyler Thigpen, who’s competing for a backup role. But the Chiefs need to find out if they have a young quarterback with the goods to carry them into a winning future. As for a serviceable veteran backup, Damon Huard fits the bill just fine.

If a team is loaded with proven talent everywhere but at quarterback, then it might sense to pick up a veteran who can manage a game well enough to help his team capitalize on its window of opportunity. If a team is one top pass rusher away from completing a championship defense, then Taylor might be your man. The Chiefs are definitely not one player away from winning it all.

Even, a team “one player away” might be better off looking in house for help. When the 1999 Rams lost Green, their starter, in the preseason, they put their trust in unproven backup Kurt Warner. He threw 41 touchdown passes and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title.

The trouble with thirty-something players is that you never know when their wheels are about to come off. Ty Law was only 32 and coming off a Pro Bowl season when he was signed by the Chiefs in 2006. He seemed a good fit for a playoff contender that needed cornerback help. Who knew that his skills were starting to slip?

Law was just one of several Chiefs veterans who got old last year and made a youth movement inevitable. Even if Edwards’ plan proves an unqualified success and the Chiefs become a hot young team on the rise, they’re likely to need help at a position or two. Maybe then a big-name veteran with some gas left in his tank might want to give them a call.

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

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A former sportswriter and columnist in Kansas City and Miami, Rand has covered the NFL for three decades and seen 23 Super Bowl games. His column appears twice weekly in-season.