Report: Chiefs Hosting Top Remaining Pass-Rusher for Visit
The Kansas City Chiefs are still looking to bolster their pass-rush, and they could be adding a well-known name after just one day of full-team training camp practice.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Chiefs are hosting defensive end Carlos Dunlap for a visit Wednesday night, bringing one of the league's top free-agent pass-rushers to Kansas City.
Dunlap spent 10 and a half years with the Cincinnati Bengals before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks in October 2019. Dunlap has 96 career sacks, including 8.5 sacks last season with Seattle.
Conner Christopherson of Arrowhead Report noted that Dunlap recorded 35 total pressures on 309 pass-rushing snaps in 2021 — good for an 11.1% pressure rate. That exceeded the rates of both Frank Clark (10.1%) and Melvin Ingram (9.7%) last season.
After the Chiefs lost Ingram to the Miami Dolphins in free agency, Jordan Foote of Arrowhead Report wrote about the Chiefs' potential options in the aforementioned thin defensive end group, including the pros and cons of adding Dunlap.
At 33 years of age, Carlos Dunlap is an elder statesman who just keeps on turning in quality stretches of play. He's no longer a full-time starter but he still managed to record eight-and-a-half sacks last season with the Seattle Seahawks. His length and strength would play well in Kansas City, and the possibility of him working in a rotation rather than being so heavily relied upon could result in the team getting the best out of him on the back nine of his career. Dunlap is the definition of an intriguing veteran.
Ahead of training camp, I gave one bold prediction for something unexpected the Chiefs may do before the season begins. Dunlap would most certainly fit this bill:
Bold prediction: At some point before, during or late in training camp, the Chiefs will add another noteworthy defensive end to bolster their thin group of pass rushers. Rookie George Karlaftis and veteran Frank Clark are the two presumed starters without much significant depth behind them, so the Chiefs will look to add a veteran in some form, even if that means waiting until another team makes a difficult move during roster cutdowns in late August.
With Ingram in mind, there's no guarantee that Dunlap will sign after his visit. (Ingram visited the Chiefs before the 2021 season, signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, then was traded to the Chiefs mid-season.) But with the Chiefs' obvious need for veteran depth and Dunlap's search for the right fit, Dunlap's chances of landing in KC should be relatively high.
