Kansas City Chiefs waive OL Ryan Hunter and sign veteran free-agent defensive tackle Terrell McClain to add depth and experience to the defensive line that was decimated by injuries in Sunday night’s 19-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Chiefs lost defensive tackle Chris Jones, who is considered ‘week to week’ with a groin strain and Xavier Williams is also expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks with an ankle sprain according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Defensive end Alex Okafor was also inactive for Sunday’s game.
Before the move, Kansas City was left with starter Derrick Nnadi and rookie Khalen Saunders as the only healthy defensive tackles on the roster. While Frank Clark, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Tanoh Kpassagnon are the team’s only active defensive ends.
McClain was drafted in the third round of the 2011 draft by the Carolina Panthers and started in 12 games, registering 19 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery before being placed on injured reserve with a left knee injury on December 6. The Panthers waived him the following September.
In 2012, he spent time with the New England Patriots, but was waived on October 2 after being active for one game and never played a down for the team. The Houston Texans picked him up later that month on October 26, 2012, and spent the following two seasons in Houston, recording only 10 tackles in 19 games.
In 2014, he was released by the Texans and signed with the Dallas Cowboys on March 12 in free agency, where he spent the next three seasons.
McClain looked ready to turn the corner and get his career back on track during the offseason but his 2014 campaign with Dallas loss some momentum in training camp due to a high ankle sprain and he spent the year in a reserve role for the Cowboys and only registered 19 tackles and a sack.
Injuries also derailed his 2015 season, only playing in two games before getting placed on injured reserve with a sprained big toe.
In 2016, he earned a starting role over free-agent competition Cedric Thornton on the defensive line and played in 15 games for Dallas. His best game that season was against the Cincinnati Bengals where he recorded 6 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 3 quarterback hurries. After the season, he was regarded as one of the best defensive linemen on the team by the local Dallas media. He finished his final season in Dallas with 39 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 7 quarterback pressures, and 2 forced fumbles.
In 2017, McClain signed with the Washington Redskins in free agency, a four-year deal worth over $21 million. McClain was brought in to fill a major hole Washington had on their defensive line at the time. Instead, he started only two out of twelve games played after being passed by Steve McGee on the depth chart. He played only one season of that huge contract before being waived the following offseason on April 30, 2018. He finished the ‘17 season with 20 tackles, 2 sacks, and a fumble recovery.
For the 2018 season, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons and started in five of thirteen games and recorded 17 tackles and a sack before leaving via free agency at the end of the year.
He began his 2019 campaign with the Arizona Cardinals this past offseason but was released on August 26, and has been a free agent until today when Chiefs GM Brett Veach gave him a call.
McClain has been injury prone and lackluster for most of his career but hopefully, he’ll be able to contribute just enough to make a difference for the Chiefs defensively in the trenches.
