The Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to transition to a 4-3 defensive under coordinator Steve Spagnuolo cost the team Pro Bowl pass rushers Justin Houston and Dee Ford.
Houston was released prior to the start of free agency. Meanwhile, Kansas City dealt Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers earlier in the week.
In an attempt to get “better fits” in their new defense, the Chiefs have signed former New Orleans Saints starting defensive end Alex Okafor to a three-year, $24 million contract.
The #Chiefs are expected to sign former #Saints DE Alex Okafor, source said. He gets a 3-year deal worth up to $24M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2019
Okafor, 28, started all 26 games in which he appeared for New Orleans over the past two seasons — recording 18 quarterback hits and 8.5 sacks in the process.
He spent his first four NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals after they selected the Texas product in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
From a schematic standpoint, Okafor makes sense. Though, it won’t help Chiefs fans overcome the losses of those two above-mentioned pass rushers as well as franchise legend Eric Berry.