The Kansas City Chiefs signed former Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Sam Barrington off the waiver wire. The former Packer is expected to fill the void Josh Mauga left when he went down with a hip injury. Barrington will be entering his fourth season in the NFL. Four years isn’t a lot of experience but the Chiefs are pretty young at inside linebacker. The exception to this is All-Pro Derrick Johnson who is entering his 11th season in the NFL. It was believed that second year player Justin March would fill the hole that Mauga left.
Kansas City Chiefs Sign Sam Barrington
Sam Barrington was drafted in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. The former South Florida Bull was placed on injured reserve for most of the 2015 season. Over his three year stint with the Packers he recorded 56 tackles, one sack, and one pass deflection.
With the regular season right around the corner the Chiefs have to waive a player to make room for Barrington. Kansas City decided to waive second year player Ramik Wilson. The former Georgia Bulldog was drafted by Kansas City in the fourth round in the 2015 draft. Wilson recorded 20 career tackles, as well as a fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown.
It is believed that Barrington will be the starter for now. However, March and other second year linebacker D.J. Alexander will compete to win that starting role as well. The Chiefs will need these younger players to step up and learn from an experienced veteran like Derrick Johnson. Johnson might be the Chiefs all-time leading tackler but is entering his twelfth season in Kansas City. The former Texas Longhorn also spent the entire 2015 season on the IR. He will turn 34 during the 2016 season. Kansas City will need these younger guys to step up and show that the torch can be passed to one of them.
