In the NFL, you’re allowed to sign eligible players to reserve/future contracts prior to free agency, and the Kansas City Chiefs agreed to terms on one more depth addition on March 3.
Per KPRC 2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the Chiefs re-signed former Baylor linebacker Blake Lynch on Monday evening after he was brought in and cut before and after Week 18.
A-to-Z Sports Kansas City reporter Charles Goldman confirmed this reunion on March 4, posting: “The Chiefs re-signed LB Blake Lynch (No. 59), who spent just eight days on the practice squad to end the 2024 regular season. He was one of the lone standouts of the Week 18 disaster against the [Denver] Broncos.”
It’s no surprise Goldman was quick to chime in on this roster move, considering he predicted it back on January 7.
“Unless he finds another home for the playoffs, I expect Blake Lynch back for the Chiefs on a reserve/future deal after his Week 18 performance at WLB [weakside linebacker],” Goldman said at the time.
Now, just under two months later in March, that theory has come to fruition.
Blake Lynch Bolsters Chiefs’ LB Depth After Losing Swayze Bozeman
The Lynch signing comes with some known potential — the Chiefs have seen what he can do, and perhaps they like what they saw — but it is also a necessary move.
Kansas City’s linebacker depth has taken a hit, and more departures could be coming next week. The team already lost promising rookie LB Swayze Bozeman following the 2024 campaign, which came as somewhat of a surprise after the Chiefs trusted him on special teams throughout the playoffs.
They also elected not to bring back another recent special teams contributor and practice squad staple in linebacker Cole Christiansen. At least, not as of March 4.
Beyond those two, some covering the team expect that KC will not tender restricted free agent linebacker Jack Cochrane, allowing him to hit the open market. And as we all know, starter Nick Bolton is a candidate to cash in elsewhere in free agency.
These circumstances make Lynch’s return even more important than Goldman hypothesized in January. For now, the 28-year-old former UDFA joins Drue Tranquill, Leo Chenal and Cam Jones to make up a very shrunken LB core.
Remembering Blake Lynch’s Impressive Week 18 Audition With Chiefs
Lynch has bounced around the league a bit since entering it. He appeared in 20 games with the Minnesota Vikings from 2020 through 2021 but was eventually waived after 2022 training camp.
From there, he spent time with the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Chargers again and Las Vegas Raiders before finding his way to KC. Outside of his time in Minnesota, Lynch’s only other official regular season appearances came with the Chargers (8 games played) prior to Week 18 of last year.
As noted above, Lynch’s lone outing with the Chiefs was a memorable one, but for the KC fans that tuned out during the final week with the No. 1 seed already clinched, below is a reminder.
“Perhaps the best performance in Week 18’s game against Denver came from one of the team’s practice squad elevations,” Goldman wrote on January 7. “LB Blake Lynch arrived in Kansas City shortly after the Week 17 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He spent just over a week getting prepared and learning a new system to post six total tackles and a tackle for loss, and he wasn’t targeted in any of his pass-coverage snaps.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Lynch is able to climb his way up the ladder with more time learning Steve Spagnuolo’s system.
