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The NFL calendar officially turned over and unrestricted free agency began exactly one month ago. From March 5^th to April 5^th, a number of moves have been made in an attempt to better programs across the league. As promised, the Chiefs have been active in both re-signing some of their own free agents and plucking others from around the country.

When comparing the internationally accepted Gregorian calendar to that of the one used today in the professional football world, the coming and going of Easter Sunday represents plenty. Specific to the NFL version of the calendar, Easter Sunday is a realistic reminder that draft day is approaching…quickly.

Free agent visits have largely been replaced by “top 30” college prospect visits, just one month into the NFL’s unrestricted free agency period. Less than 30 days have passed since we experienced round-the-clock free agency coverage. Now, it’s all about 24-hour NFL Draft coverage. Sometimes the two go hand-in-hand, like yesterday’s trade of Donovan McNabb to Washington (we’ll take a quick peek at tha in a bit).

As our focus turns draft-heavy for the rest of the month, let’s recap what decisions the Chiefs have made during NFL free agency. These are the decisions that play significant roles into what happens on draft day (just think if the Chiefs didn’t re-sign Chris Chambers, rumors of a receiver at number five would be flooding the talk in KC).

2010 Free Agency Retentions (12)

QB Matt Gutierrez (RFA) – Agreed to new contract with Chiefs on February 24^th

RB Kolby Smith (RFA) – Agreed to new contract with Chiefs on February 24^th

LB Mike Vrabel (UFA) – Agreed to contract extension with Chiefs on March 4^th

RB Jackie Battle (ERFA) – Agreed to new contact with Chiefs on March 5^th

WR Terrance Copper (UFA) – Re-signed with Chiefs on March 6^th

WR Chris Chambers (UFA) – Re-signed with Chiefs on March 8^th

LB Derrick Johnson (RFA) – Offered 1^st round tender; signed tender on March 24^th

OL Ikechuku Ndukwe (RFA) – Offered 2^nd round tender; signed tender on March 24^th

FB Mike Cox (ERFA) – Re-signed as ERFA on March 24^th

LB Andy Studebaker (ERFA) – Re-signed as ERFA on March 26^th

DB Maurice Leggett (ERFA) – Re-signed as ERFA on March 30^th

T Barry Richardson (ERFA) – Re-signed as ERFA on March 30^th

*WR Chandler Williams, DE Bobby Greenwood, RB Kestahn Moore, OL Jermail Porter and CB Jackie Bates all signed reserve/future contracts on 1/4/10 (former practice squad players)

2010 Free Agency Additions (5)

RB Thomas Jones (NYJ) – Signed with Chiefs on March 9^th

DT Shaun Smith (CIN) – Signed with Chiefs on March 10^th

WR Jerheme Urban (ARZ) – Signed with Chiefs on March 11^th

C Casey Wiegmann (DEN) – Signed with Chiefs on March 12^th

G Ryan Lilja (IND) – Signed with Chiefs on March 16^th

*QB Tyler Palko signed before unrestricted free agency period

2010 Free Agency Subtractions (3)

OL Andy Alleman (RFA) – Not offered tender; signed with Indianapolis on March 6^th

OL Wade Smith (UFA) – Signed with Houston on March 10^th

TE Sean Ryan (UFA) – Signed with Washington on March 11^th

*RB Dantrell Savage (3/4/10), WR Devard Darling (3/4/10), G Mike Goff (2/24/10), LB Weston Dacus (2/8/10) and LB Justin Rogers (2/8/10) were all released prior to the start of unrestricted free agency

2010 Free Agency Questions (7)

S Mike Brown (UFA) – Remains unsigned

WR Bobby Wade (UFA) – Remains unsigned

QB Brodie Croyle (RFA) – Offered 2^nd round tender, but yet to sign

LB Corey Mays (RFA) – Offered 2^nd round tender, but yet to sign

C Rudy Niswanger (RFA) – Offered 2^nd round tender, but yet to sign

T Ryan O’Callaghan (RFA) – Offered 2^nd round tender, but yet to sign

S Jarrad Page (RFA) – Offered 2^nd round tender, but yet to sign

Key:

UFA = Unrestricted Free Agent

RFA = Restricted Free Agent

ERFA = Exclusive Rights Free Agent

Note: The Chiefs front office does not disclose tender information; amounts taken from league reports

We interrupt this recap to bring you relevant Chiefs news surrounding the Donovan McNabb situation…

It’s now going to be very hard to imagine a scenario where Kansas City is sitting at number five with the opportunity to select S Eric Berry, LB Rolando McClain (for some Chiefs fans) or the first offensive tackle off the board (Russell Okung, Trent Williams, etc).

A potential draft day scenario, which ironed out that result, was lined out in last week’s blog, The Bradford Effect, but that scenario was largely dependent on the Redskins selecting a quarterback in the four slot. With McNabb heading to Washington, there is no way the Redskins will take Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen with the fourth overall pick.

Who do you have in your mock at number four now? Berry could very well be the front-runner. He took a visit to Washington this past weekend. We could also see Washington select an offensive tackle or maybe even one of the two top defensive tackles should the cards fall right (Gerald McCoy or Ndamukong Suh).

Washington was circled as the wildcard drafting ahead of the Chiefs, but now it looks like Detroit’s pick at number two (defensive tackle or offensive tackle?) could push Washington in a certain direction.

It’s time to update that mock if you had Clausen going to Washington in the cuatro position.