Carr Routt-ed out of KC?

Stanford Routt intercepts Kyle Orton during the Raiders 16-13 overtime victory.

The Kansas City Chiefs confirmed today that they have signed Free Agent CB Stanford Routt (formerly of the Oakland Raiders) to a 3 year 19.6 million dollar deal with $4 million guaranteed.

My initial reaction upon learning of this news was anger. I was not happy about this signing because, let’s be honest, it probably means the end of Brandon Carr in KC. I am and will continue to be a big Brandon Carr fan. Drafted out of D-II Grand Valley State and has since started in every single game of his career. It almost seems like we have seen him grow up on the green grass at Arrowhead.

It doesn’t take much research to make the determination that Routt is not as talented as Carr and will therefore be a step-down. Routt committed 17 penalties during the 2011 season and 12 penalties during the 2010 season. He also allowed 8 touchdowns last year. Granted that came with responsibility of playing as a #1 CB and not having much of a secondary around him. In KC he won’t be relied upon as a #1 CB, we have Brandon Flowers for that. However this is still not good news, as a football fan, you want your team to retain its best players.

However let’s look at from a different perspective. As fans we have absolutely no idea what is going on in the Front Office. We don’t know how much effort was put into retaining Carr or what his asking price was. It can almost be promised that Brandon Carr will sign for more than around $6.5 million a year. As the best CB available in the Free Agent class, Carr will probably get in the neighborhood of $10-12 million a year. Is he worth it? That’s debatable. He is worth it to the Chiefs? Probably not.

The Chiefs have a lot of holes left on the roster and more of their own FA’s to sign, including Dwayne Bowe. Saving some money by signing Carr rather than Routt was a good financial move. This gives the Chiefs flexibility in pursuing other free agents. Carl Nicks or Paul Soliai anyone? This signing assures the Chiefs that they will not have to look any further at the CB position. They could potentially lose a top corner (Carr) but not have considerable drop off (Routt) and won’t have to spend or depend on a rookie to step in and perform. With Routt you know what you are getting. A good #2 CB that plays best in a bump and run type of defense.

So looking back over this deal I have to give props to Scott Pioli for not waiting around to make something happen. He was aggressive and got the man he wanted. Now we just have to wait to see if this aggressiveness continues throughout the rest of the offseason. Remember players are set to become free agents on March 13^th.

Welcome to the good side Mr. Routt!

-J