The Kansas City Chiefs let go of running back Charcandrick West. Is he a player the Chicago Bears will have eyes on?
When the Chicago Bears signed Knile Davis, it made a lot of sense. Matt Nagy once coached Davis, and the team was having questions regarding their depth at running back. However, Davis struggled in his debut and failed to show any momentum heading forward.
With that in mind, when the Kansas City Chiefs released Charcandrick West, the ears of Matt Nagy certainly had to perk up. There is a massive draw to West in that he is dealing with a concussion and has not practiced in a few weeks.
The Kansas City Chiefs have Spencer Ware back and healthy to complement Kareem Hunt. West was the highest paid of the three, was going to see the least playing time of the three and is questionable for Week One. It makes sense as to why the Chiefs would let West go.
At the same time, it makes a lot of sense as to why they would love to sign West. West is a younger Benny Cunningham with experience in a Matt Nagy system. The fact of the matter is that Davis was signed because Cunningham is injured. In case of an emergency, they need a Cunningham replacement for third downs receptions, pass blocking and return game value.
Charcandrick West brings all three to the table. Last year at this time Kareem Hunt was falling down fantasy football boards because prognosticators were unsure if he could beat out West. Hunt was clearly the better talent, but reports out of camp were that West consistently showed him up as a pass blocker.
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West did not see the field as a rookie. However, in his following three seasons, with Matt Nagy, he caught 20, 28, and 27 passes. Cunningham has a career high of 45 receptions but has only gone over 20 receptions three of his five NFL seasons. West also returned three kicks and a punt last season.
When the Chicago Bears signed Knile Davis, it was with the idea in mind that he may bring more to the table than a rookie UDFA in Ryan Nall and a bust so far in Taquan Mizzell.
With the potential signing of Charcandrick West, they are adding a player who is easily better than the three and could unseat Cunningham as the clear third back on this team.
The team has had the option to carry an extra running back into the season anyway, and may bring West and Cunningham into the regular season to sort it out over the first week or so. They could also add West and cut Cunningham, whose job was not necessarily secure if something like this happened in the first place.
We are not sure who is healthier between Cunningham and West. However, Cunningham’s injury is not doing him any favors right now, and the signing of Davis showed that they expected to be more than a few days. Now, a healthy West could be looked at as an upgrade to the role, and things may get interesting.
West knows Nagy, knows the offense and has had success with him. Do not be surprised if he is a name that gets brought up.