Chiefs release veteran tackle Spears

[Doomsday101]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Offensive tackle Marcus Spears was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday.

The seventh-year player was released now so he could find a spot on another team, head coach Dick Vermeil said.

Spears, a second-round draft pick of Chicago in 1994, played 80 games for the Chiefs after signing as a free agent in 1997.

"This decision is a result of the development of our younger offensive linemen and those players acquired through trades and free agency," president Carl Peterson said

[Ken]

Let's take a look.

We need a veteran presence at RT.

[jay cee]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Offensive tackle Marcus Spears was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday.

The seventh-year player was released now so he could find a spot on another team, head coach Dick Vermeil said.

Spears, a second-round draft pick of Chicago in 1994, played 80 games for the Chiefs after signing as a free agent in 1997.

"This decision is a result of the development of our younger offensive linemen and those players acquired through trades and free agency," president Carl Peterson said


I for one, would love to see the Cowboys grab a veteran guy for the right tackle spot. I know in the salary cap era you have to go with rookies a lot more than years ago, but it really makes me nervous for them to have too many young guys starting on the O-line.

[MichaelWinicki]

I for one, would love to see the Cowboys grab a veteran guy for the right tackle spot. I know in the salary cap era you have to go with rookies a lot more than years ago, but it really makes me nervous for them to have too many young guys starting on the O-line.


I remember Spears when he played with Buffalo... nothing special. No upside. I would rather give Tucker and Rogers a chance.

Hey, you have to give the young guys a chance to see what they can do. It isn't just about 2004.

[Doomsday101]

I remember Spears when he played with Buffalo... nothing special. No upside. I would rather give Tucker and Rogers a chance.

Hey, you have to give the young guys a chance to see what they can do. It isn't just about 2004.

Yes you have to give young players the chance but you do not do that at the expense of the team, young guys will get a chance to prove themself but if they fail then you need someone you can fall back on, you can't just sit there and say oh well he did not work out so we will take our beatings and wait till next year.

[MichaelWinicki]

Yes you have to give young players the chance but you do not do that at the expense of the team, young guys will get a chance to prove themself but if they fail then you need someone you can fall back on, you can't just sit there and say oh well he did not work out so we will take our beatings and wait till next year.


I think between Vollers, Tucker and Rogers---one of those guys has to be at least equal of Spears... like I said before Spears isn't anything special.

I don't think that tackle position is where we really sucked last year... it was Allen and Gurode that really stunk up the joint.

[Doomsday101]

I think between Vollers, Tucker and Rogers---one of those guys has to be at least equal of Spears... like I said before Spears isn't anything special.

I don't think that tackle position is where we really sucked last year... it was Allen and Gurode that really stunk up the joint.

Tackle spot opposite Flo did not do a good job and while Spears is not anything special he has much more experiance and could be had for a fairly cheap price. If the young guys show they can handle the job then you can release Spears as pre-season starts to come to an end but should he show himself to be an upgrade of Vollers or Tucker then you just helped to improve the team and the depth

[Minister of D]

This would be a great value pickup with very little downside if the Boys get him. There is room under the cap and he can come in and contribute immediately.

[MichaelWinicki]

Tackle spot opposite Flo did not do a good job and while Spears is not anything special he has much more experiance and could be had for a fairly cheap price. If the young guys show they can handle the job then you can release Spears as pre-season starts to come to an end but should he show himself to be an upgrade of Vollers or Tucker then you just helped to improve the team and the depth


OK Doom let's make a friendly wager. I've got a brand spankin new "George Dubya Bush" $200 bill right here in front of me. If we sign Spears it's yours!

What do you got?

[Doomsday101]

:D OK Doom let's make a friendly wager. I've got a brand spankin new "George Dubya Bush" $200 bill right here in front of me. If we sign Spears it's yours!

What do you got?

I did not say anything that Dallas would or would not sign him, I'm only showing an option that is out there. Dallas had problems along the line last year and so anything this team can do to help bolster the line would be a big help to the team. I think Rogers will be the future at that tackle spot but there is a very good chance it will not be this year as for Vollers and Tucker neither have shown themselfs to be as you would say anything special, 1 of them may show a lot more this training camp then again they may not. I would just rather cover our bases while we can instead of wishing we had done something once it is too late.

[blindzebra]

Vollers and Tucker both outplayed the vet, Young, last year.

Unless a veteran pro bowl player, or a RT that played for Parcells at NE or NYJ gets released, I think we will stick with the young guys.

[InmanRoshi]

No one is granted with the luxory of unlimited roster spots. For every washed up, mediocre vet you keep for insurance, its one less roster spot for a young talented player with upside.

Marcus Spears is a mediocre player. As Ryan Young showed, it doesn't matter how much experience you have if you can't play the game anymore. If given the choice between a veteran mediocre player and a young mediocre player, lets go with the guy who actually has a chance to get better over time.

[Doomsday101]

No one is granted with the luxory of unlimited roster spots. For every washed up, mediocre vet you keep for "insurance", its one less roster spot for a young talented player with upside.

Marcus Spears = Ryan Young

You bring 80 players to camp you try to bring the best 80 you can if the young players prove they can do the job then you can always release that vet player. Going into a season is not the time to find out that a player still can't do the job.

[Doomsday]

Yes you have to give young players the chance but you do not do that at the expense of the team, young guys will get a chance to prove themself but if they fail then you need someone you can fall back on, you can't just sit there and say oh well he did not work out so we will take our beatings and wait till next year.

I agree and we have plenty of CAP room to make this move. I dont see a down side to bringing him for a look, if he isnt significantly better then what they already have they can release or trade him.

[InmanRoshi]

If you really want to keep Marcus Spears for insurance around as then he has to be the regular season roster, because you're not going to be able to tell crap about whether Torrin Tucker is ready to start the regular season and face Michael Strahan by what he does in training camp against Kalen Thorton in practice. Billy Davis looked like an All Pro WR in training camp. The only way you'll know is by throwing them out there when the games mean something and see if they sink or swim. And so what if he's marginally better than Tucker and Rogers in training camp. That doesn't mean he's going to be better in December, or even by the end of September.

And yes, bringing him to camp is going to cost the Cowboys something ... it costs them practice and preseason snaps that better used on getting Rogers and Tucker prepared. And if he gets hurt in training camp you either have to come to an injury settlement or put him on IR, eitehr one counts against the cap and you're only allowed to place a limited number of players on IR.

[Doomsday101]

If you really want to keep Marcus Spears around as "insurance" then he has to be the regular season roster, because you're not going to be able to tell crap about whether Torrin Tucker is ready to start the regular season and face Michael Strahan by what he does in training camp against Kalen Thorton in practice. Billy Davis looked like an All Pro WR in training camp. The only way you'll know is by throwing them out there when the games mean something and see if they sink or swim.

And yes, bringing him to camp is going to cost the Cowboys something ... it costs them snaps that are needed to get Rogers and Tucker prepared.

Then please do not tell me how bad the O-line is, on one hand we get people complaining about how our line sucks but they don't want to do anything about it now? I'm not trying to build Spears or any other possiable addition to the Cowboys up as a pro bowl type player but when your offense has consistantly stuggled over the last 6 to 7 years then having some vet. help along the line at least in my opinion is not a bad thing. Chances are Dallas will bring in more players before we head into training camp and it would make no sense to bring in players who have no chance at all of making the team

[InmanRoshi]

Then please do not tell me how bad the O-line is, on one hand we get people complaining about how our line sucks but they don't want to do anything about it now? I'm not trying to build Spears or any other possiable addition to the Cowboys up as a pro bowl type player but when your offense has consistantly stuggled over the last 6 to 7 years then having some vet. help along the line at least in my opinion is not a bad thing. Chances are Dallas will bring in more players before we head into training camp and it would make no sense to bring in players who have no chance at all of making the team

When you talk about the offense being bad the last 6 or 7 years, its not because they haven't tried the hand at mediocre, over the hill veterans. Yeah, they've gone out and got the Ryan Youngs, the Ernie Mills, the Tony McGees and the way past his prime Mark Stepnoskis. That's part of the problem ... instead of signing the Everrett McIvers, they should have focused on developing Oliver Ross. And instead of signing Anthony Miller, they should have been playing Willie Jackson.

But that was the old Cowboys. The Cowboys that would start broken down Chad Hennings and Leon Letts, even though we were last in the league in rushing defense, because they had the "better to go with the devil you know" mindset that permeated Dave Campo's coaching philosophy.

[Doomsday101]

When you talk about the offense being bad the last 6 or 7 years, its not because they haven't tried the hand at mediocre, over the hill veterans. Yeah, they've gone out and got the Ryan Youngs, the Ernie Mills, the Tony McGees and the way past his prime Mark Stepnoskis. That's part of the problem ... instead of signing the Everrett McIvers, they should have focused on developing Oliver Ross. And instead of signing Anthony Miller, they should have been playing Willie Jackson.

But that was the old Cowboys. The Cowboys that would start broken down Chad Hennings and Leon Letts, even though we were last in the league in rushing defense, because they had the "better to go with the devil you know" mindset that permeated Dave Campo's coaching philosophy.

That was the old Cowboys so the new Cowboys bring in Anderson, Vinny, Keyshawn and Ward? All I have suggested is covering the bases and regardless what you may think Coaches use the training camp and pre-season to evaluate player and based on that they make their cuts. Adding an experianced lineman be it spears or someone else only helps the Cowboys it does not hinder them.

[jay cee]

Hey, you have to give the young guys a chance to see what they can do. It isn't just about 2004.

It is with me. I'll worry about 2005 after this upcoming season.

[jay cee]

Then please do not tell me how bad the O-line is, on one hand we get people complaining about how our line sucks but they don't want to do anything about it now? I'm not trying to build Spears or any other possiable addition to the Cowboys up as a pro bowl type player but when your offense has consistantly stuggled over the last 6 to 7 years then having some vet. help along the line at least in my opinion is not a bad thing. Chances are Dallas will bring in more players before we head into training camp and it would make no sense to bring in players who have no chance at all of making the team


Totally agree. I have never seen Spears play, but I would be surprised if he could not beat out a rookie who is switching from left to right tackle, and a young free agent.

Ryan young struggled last year because of injury, not ability. The Cowboys o-line has sucked for the past couple of years and they have to improve significantly if they are going to make a run in the playoffs.

[Doomsday101]

Totally agree. I have never seen Spears play, but I would be surprised if he could not beat out a rookie who is switching from left to right tackle, and a young free agent.

Ryan young struggled last year because of injury, not ability. The Cowboys o-line has sucked for the past couple of years and they have to improve significantly if they are going to make a run in the playoffs.

I do know the Chiefs had a good a pretty good O-line last year helping to provide a very good running game and gave 20 sacks on the season with a QB in Trent Green who is not the most fleet of foot.

[jay cee]

I do know the Chiefs had a good a pretty good O-line last year helping to provide a very good running game and gave 20 sacks on the season with a QB in Trent Green who is not the most fleet of foot.


Good point. and according to the article, It seems that he has not fallen off much, but the younger players have surpassed him and the Chiefs released him early to give him time to sign somewhere else.

I think it would be great if the Cowboys brought him in. If the players they have beat him out cool. But if he is the better tackle play him. With a rookie running back, and average (at best) qb, you need the best possible o-line play you can get.

[big dog cowboy]

I think we will really find out what BP thinks of the 3 headed group we have at RT by his actions liek bringing in a vet to compete. Reminds me of the CB position. BP thinks we will be ok with what we have, hence no vet was brought in. I suspect the same line of thinking applies to RT.

[AdamJT13]

I remember Spears when he played with Buffalo... nothing special.

You must be thinking of Marcus Spriggs. Marcus Spears played one season with Chicago (in 1996) and has played for Kansas City since 1997.

He also hasn't started a game since 2001 and has only 18 career starts. He's strictly a backup, if that.

[MichaelWinicki]

You must be thinking of Marcus Spriggs. Marcus Spears played one season with Chicago (in 1996) and has played for Kansas City since 1997.

He also hasn't started a game since 2001 and has only 18 career starts. He's strictly a backup, if that.

Yes you are correct sir.

Glad to know you aren't big on Spears either...