Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs released four players Sunday, including quarterback Bill Stull of the University of Pittsburgh. Stull was signed during training camp when regular backup Brodie Croyle went out with an undisclosed injury. Also released were offensive lineman Tyler Eastman, running back Kestahn Moore and tight end Cody Slate.  

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed free-agent linebacker Mark Simoneau, a 33-year-old veteran who's joining his fourth NFL team. Terms of the signing announced Wednesday were not released. The Chiefs released defensive lineman Atiyyah Ellison to make room on the roster. Simoneau hasn't played since he suffered a back injury in 2007. He has 68 starts in 123 career games. Atlanta made Simoneau was a third-round draft pick in 2000 out of Kansas State, where he had 400 career tackles.

With Matt Cassel under center the Chiefs were struggling; with Tyler Palko, Kansas City is floundering.  The Chiefs have lost four straight games and are tied with San Diego for last place in the AFC West.  On Sunday the Chiefs face the 2nd place team in the NFC North, the Chicago Bears, at Soldier Field in downtown Chicago. Almost two weeks ago the Chiefs claimed former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton off waivers but he has yet to see the field.  Instead, Palko is playing under center for the Chiefs and in four games he's thrown for 444 yards and 6 interceptions.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed free agent defensive lineman Amon Gordon, giving them some added depth at one of their primary positions of need. The 6-foot-2, 305-pound lineman has made four starts and played in 17 games with the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks. Amon, a fifth-round pick of Cleveland in 2004, has made 36 career tackles and forced one fumble. The former Stanford star also has spent time on the practice squads of Denver, Baltimore and Tennessee.

Le'Ron McClain remembers the first practice of his rookie year with the Baltimore Ravens. The big fullback pulled in a pass, turned up field and ran smack into All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis. There's a good chance he'll run into him again awfully soon. McClain joined the Chiefs in the offseason after four mostly successful seasons in Baltimore, joining a wave of ex-Ravens on the team they helped knock out of last season's playoffs. Quarterbacks guru Jim Zorn, defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and offensive tackle Jared Gaither are also with the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs made Tennessee safety Eric Berry their first round pick (fifth overall) in Thursday's NFL draft. Berry intercepted 14 passes and recorded 241 tackles during his collegiate career and is widely viewed as maybe the most NFL-ready player in a draft that's considered to be the deepest in years. Rounds two and three will take place on Friday night. The draft concludes on Saturday.

The Kansas City Chiefs have taken quarterback Ricky Stanzi of Iowa with their first selection in the fifth round. Stanzi could compete with Brodie Croyle as backup to Matt Cassel, who went to the Pro Bowl for the first time last year. In his last year at Iowa, Stanzi hit 221 of 345 passes for 3,004 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was intercepted only six times. One historical oddity about the Chiefs is they have never drafted and developed a successful starting quarterback of their own.  

Tyler Palko will make his first NFL start on Monday night football as the Chiefs (4-5) face the New England Patriots (6-3).  Palko has been a backup in the league since 2007 and has completed just 13 passes in his pro-career.  He is 5-7 for 47 yards this season for Kansas City. Palko is getting the start because of Matt Cassel's hand injury that required surgery.  Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported Sunday afternoon that Cassel is officially out for the year. Monday night's game between the Patriots and the Chiefs starts at 7:30 pm in Foxborough.

Matt Cassel threw three touchdown passes and Eric Berry returned an interception 54 yards for another score and Kansas City romped past Tennessee 34-14 Sunday. Cassel hit 12 of his first 13 passes for the fast-starting Chiefs (10-5), including touchdown tosses to Jamaal Charles on their first two possessions. The Chiefs' AFC West lead went to 1½ games pending San Diego's later start at Cincinnati. The Titans (6-9) spent much of the game dropping passes, missing arm tackles and piling up penalties while losing for the seventh time in eight games.

Today is a big day for Chiefs fans and the team. Kansas City starts the 2010 football season with a nationally televised game.It's their first game to be broadcast on Monday Football since 2005. Now, they'll get to show off the new Arrowhead Stadium as well as their skills. The Royals also have a game at the "K" that starts at 2 p.m. Monday. If you're heading to either stadium, you should expect heavy traffic. If you're going to the Chiefs game and plan to tailgate before 3:30, you have to purchase a Royals pass in addition to a Chiefs parking pass.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed former Kansas defensive end Toben Opurum as an undrafted free agent after trying him out as a fullback during rookie minicamp. The Chiefs announced the move in a statement Friday. The 6-foot-1, 250-pound Opurum began his career with the Jayhawks as a running back, gaining 554 yards and scoring nine touchdowns during the 2009 season. He moved to linebacker as a sophomore and played defensive end the past two seasons, making 109 tackles and 6 1/2 sacks in his career.

The Kansas City Chiefs defense has lived by the bend-but-don't-break mantra the past few years under Romeo Crennel. Well, that's out the window now. New defensive coordinator Bob Sutton would prefer to attack from the word, "Hike," and during the first week of organized team activities, his players have taken quite the shine to it. The Chiefs only intercepted seven passes a year ago, tied for last in the league, and managed to come up with...

It hasn't taken long for Alex Smith to become the leader of the Kansas City Chiefs. The former No. 1 draft pick was sent from the San Francisco 49ers to the Chiefs during a topsy-turvy offseason. If he wasn't considered the leader in the huddle then, he certainly is now, as the Chiefs toil away in blazing heat during the first full week of voluntary practices. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe compared his QB on Wednesday to Steve Young, and praised the way that Smith has helped the Chiefs pick up new coach Andy Reid's offense.

Any question about whether Branden Albert would fit right back in with the Kansas City Chiefs was put to rest when new quarterback Alex Smith greeted his left tackle with a smile. Albert rejoined the Chiefs on Tuesday after missing several weeks of voluntary workouts and meetings for the start of organized team activities, which run for the next three weeks. Albert has been seeking a long-term contract, but the two sides have been far apart. So the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Albert and he signed the tender for about $9.3 million this season, yet chose to stay away from the team.

City leaders in Conway Springs have voted to replace their police chief. April Addis was appointed Chief of Police in the small Sumner County community in 2011. But some city council members said changes needed to be made. The city voted during a meeting Tuesday night not to reappoint Addis as chief. Dozens of people packed the city council meeting Tuesday night in support of Addis. "I've heard nothing bad about her, and, she's great," said T.J. Sones, council member.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed running back Knile Davis, a third-round pick out of Arkansas. Davis was selected 96th overall in last month's draft. Terms were not released Monday. Davis had a monster sophomore season for Arkansas, running for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns. But the 227-pound Davis broke an ankle as a junior, and a combination of uncertainty on the coaching staff and his fumbling problems resulted in a rough junior season. He only ran for 377 yards and two touchdowns last year.

The Kansas City Chiefs have hired former Nevada coach Chris Ault, the innovator of the "pistol" offensive formation that has swept through the NFL, to serve as a special consultant. Ault's agent, Bob LaMonte, confirmed the hiring to The Associated Press on Monday. It was first reported by the Reno Gazette-Journal, which covered Ault during his college coaching years. It wasn't clear exactly what his duties will be with the Chiefs. The pistol offensive formation lines up the quarterback a few yards behind center, but short of the traditional shotgun formation.

Tyler Bray believes that every rookie has something to prove.     He may have more than most. The former Tennessee quarterback left school a year early hoping he'd be chosen highly in the draft, but every team passed on him over the course of seven agonizing rounds. So he wound up signing with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent, and is now trying to make the team. He's been participating in the Chiefs' rookie minicamp that finishes up Sunday. Bray put up big numbers as a starter with the Vols, but questions about his maturity and some minor off-the-field incidents caused his stock to drop.

Offensive tackle Eric Fisher and quarterback Tyler Bray had vastly different experiences during the NFL draft, yet both of them ended up with the Kansas City Chiefs. Both have a lot of people watching them, too. Fisher was the first overall pick out of Central Michigan, and will be expected to compete for a starting job on the offensive line, though it's unclear whether it'll be on the right or left side. That could depend on what happens with Branden Albert. Bray left Tennessee early but wasn't chosen in the draft, and signed with the Chiefs as a free agent.

The Kansas City Chiefs have traded cornerback Javier Arenas to the Arizona Cardinals for fullback Anthony Sherman. A second-round draft pick from Alabama in 2010, Arenas played 47 games in three seasons with the Chiefs, including 12 starts. He had two interceptions and returned kicks for the Chiefs, averaging 21 yards on kickoffs. Arena started a career-high nine games in 2012, with 59 tackles and a forced fumble. He was third in the NFL in punt returns with a 12.8-yard average in 2011.