|
HOT TOPIC
His once long, flowing blond hair -- which flew everywhere when he once threw an opponent's helmet across the field while with New Orleans -- has been shorn to something approaching Republican length.
His weight is down considerably, too.
A 310-pound player when he played mainly right tackle during six years in New Orleans and one in St. Louis, he is now down to 275, a weight that actually is up some from the 235 he fell to after two seasons of inactivity and intentional weight loss to alleviate back problems that surgery couldn't fix.
But the tattoos and the "I can do anything" attitude remind you that his is still Kyle Turley, the accomplished tackle who will attempt to return to the NFL after a two-year absence as a right tackle candidate for the Kansas City Chiefs.
"It should be a smooth transition," said Turley, who will be reunited with John Matsco, the offensive line coach he had in St. Louis. "Football is football; it isn't rocket science. And as far as I'm aware, they haven't changed defenses all that much in the past two years."
In trying to return from back surgery, Turley walks a tenuous line between needing to regain some more weight and risking further back injury by adding too much. Playing at somewhere just under 290 could be a target.
"Obviously you can't play tackle where I was at 235 (during his post-surgery rehab)," he said. "I have to get back some weight, and not just from eating pizzas. It has to be positive weight my back can support."
But Turley feels good about his prospects of playing even at a reduced weight. His back, he said, is feeling better than it has in years.
"I'll put on as much as my doctors say I can handle and go from there," he said. "I'm not too concerned about the weight. Playing the offensive line is more of a mental game than a physical one, anyway. It's all about using leverage and quickness. There have been a lot of guys who've had success (on the offensive line) playing lighter. Look at the Denver Broncos' line. How many of their guys weigh more than 285?"
Turley's arrival with the Chiefs couldn't have come at a better time.
Three days after Turley signed a two-year contract, the Chiefs got word from right tackle John Welbourn, a starter in 19 games over the previous two seasons, of his intentions to retire at age 30.
Welbourn, a disenchanted player since his four-game suspension last year for violating the league's substance abuse policy, told the Chiefs he wanted to leave the game on his terms. He indicated through his agent that he may attend law school.
The Chiefs said they would hold open a roster spot for Welbourn in the event that he reconsiders.
PLAYER NOTES
-- The motorcycle accident that caused serious injuries to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger caused Herm Edwards to deliver a precautionary message he once thought he didn't need to send to NFL players.
"I told them they're all grown men. I'm not telling them what to do but that they do have choices to make, and those choices have consequences. I've been through the scenario that happened to Ben."
It happened when Edwards was coaching the New York Jets and he received word that defensive back Jamie Henderson had been involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in the spring of 2004.
"I got the call at 1:30 in the morning," Edwards remembered. "My wife and I flew down to Atlanta and saw him in the hospital. They didn't think he was going to walk again."
Edwards doesn't want to have to go through that again with another player.
"You've got to be careful," he said. "But these guys are athletes. You can't tell them; you can only suggest to them that there are certain things they shouldn't do. For some guys, it's in their contracts. But there are other things they're going to do and you've got to hope they aren't seriously injured when they do them."
Trent Green, who recovered from a career-threatening on-field knee injury in 1999, had long since taken such an advisory to heart.
"I've always been super cautious when it comes to that stuff, and I don't know if that's good or bad," Green said. "I've never snow-skied, I've always said that I'll wait until I'm done playing to try it. But now with my knee the way it is, I'll probably never snow ski. Maybe I'll ride a snowmobile or something.
"I used to water ski until 1998 when I started for the Redskins, but after that I didn't want to take the chance of falling on the board or something."
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
TRANSITION PLAUER: None.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
--TE/LS Ed Perry (not tendered June 1).
--CB Dewayne Washington (not tendered June 1).
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None.
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS: None.
PLAYERS RE-SIGNED
--OT Jordan Black: RFA; $721,600/1 yr.
--DT Lional Dalton: UFA; 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--LS Kendall Gammon: UFA; terms unknown.
--DE Carlos Hall: UFA; terms unknown.
--QB Damon Huard: UFA; 1 yr, terms unknown.
--CB Benny Sapp: ERFA; terms unknown.
--PK Lawrence Tynes: ERFA; terms unknown.
--DE Jimmy Wilkerson: RFA; $721,600/1 yr.
PLAYERS ACQUIRED
--OT Ian Allen: UFA Cardinals; terms unknown.
--DT Ron Edwards: UFA Bills; 1 yr, terms unknown.
--RB Quentin Griffin: FA; 1 yr, terms unknown.
--CB Chris Johnson: Not tendered as RFA by Rams; $940,000/2 yrs, $5,000 SB.
--DT James Reed: Not tendered as UFA by Jet; terms unknown.
--OT Kyle Turley: FA; 2 yrs, terms unknown.
--CB Lenny Walls: FA; $1.75M/1 yr, SB unknown.
PLAYERS LOST
--LB Shawn Barber (released).
--WR Marc Boerigter: UFA Packers; $782,700/1 yr, $90,000 SB.
--QB Todd Collins: UFA Redskins; $2.5M/2 yrs, $450,000 SB.
--WR Chris Horn: Not tendered as RFA/Saints; 2 yrs, terms unknown.
--CB Dexter McCleon (released).
--FB Tony Richardson: UFA Vikings; $2.5M/2 yrs, $500,000 SB.
--LB Gary Stills (released).
--CB Eric Warfield (released).
--OT John Welbourn (retired).
--S Jerome Woods (released).
MEDICAL WATCH: No updates.
|
