Report: Chiefs starting center Austin Reiter expected to land elsewhere in free agency

The Kansas City Chiefs appear to be overhauling their offensive line entirely as we approach the 2021 free agency period.

This morning the team released veteran offensive tackles, Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. According to a new report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, another starter for the Chiefs won’t be returning for the 2021 NFL season. Starting center Austin Reiter will become an unrestricted free agent when the period officially opens on March 17. When that happens, Reiter is expected to join another team per Pelissero.

Reiter has been the starter in Kansas City for the past two seasons after being picked up on waivers from the Cleveland Browns ahead of the 2018 season. He worked his way up to a starting gig in 2019 and never surrendered the job, though he did miss a few games with a knee injury in 2020.

Contrary to popular belief, Reiter was really solid for the Chiefs in 2020. He didn’t allow a single sack during the entire season and postseason, with just 11 total pressures on the year. You have to go all the way back to Super Bowl LIV to find the last time he surrendered a sack. Looking back on the season, he was the team’s most consistent performer on the offensive line and it was a career year in pass protection. It’s easy to see why he might fetch a deal in free agency that Kansas City would be unable to match.

If this holds true, three of the five starters from Super Bowl LIV will no longer be with the team. That means they’ll have to come up with another plan for the position. They have internal options like Nick Allegretti and practice squad OL Darryl Williams. They’ll also have a number of options in free agency and the draft. One thing is for certain, though. The 2021 offensive line is set to look very different from a year ago.

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Chiefs have 4 players with offensive tackle experience under contract for 2021