Chiefs’ secret revealed in key free agent signing involving Andy Reid

Billy Heyen

Chiefs’ secret revealed in key free agent signing involving Andy Reid image

Andy Reid was the closer.

That's how the Kansas City Chiefs recently landed an intriguing free agent following the NFL Draft.

K.C. landed Clemson tight end Jake Briningstool as a priority undrafted free agent. And on Sunday, beat reporter Matt Derrick revealed why.

"How did the Chiefs land Clemson TE Jake Briningstool as a free agent?" Derrick began his post on X. "Andy Reid played closer as the only head coach who got on the phone to recruit him to sign with Kansas City."

MORE: Commanders to make huge announcement about NFL Draft in historic venue

That's great recruiting work from Reid.

Derrick, an in-depth Chiefs reporter, also provided his insight on Briningstool.

"I was big on Jake Briningstool before the draft and I still am," Derrick writes. "He's a different flavor than (Noah) Gray -- 6'6" vs. 6'3". a team can use both of them. Hard to project an undrafted free agent to be a No. 1 but even if he became a solid No. 2, that's a huge win for a UDFA."

Many projected Briningstool to be a late draft pick, which wouldn't have required any such recruitment.

But once he made it to the undrafted free agent pool, any team that wanted him could put a bid in.

Turns out, Reid must've said the right things and left a solid impression.

With Travis Kelce retiring sooner rather than later, the Chiefs bringing in another talented tight end is definitely worth the effort.

MORE NFL NEWS:

Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle