Kansas City Chiefs Sign Carlos Dunlap, Yet Another Veteran Edge Rusher

Three years ago, it was Terrell Suggs. Last year it was Melvin Ingram. This year it’s Carlos Dunlap.

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has deftly made a habit of signing veteran Pro Bowl edger rushers to short-term deals.

And ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Dunlap, the former Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks defensive end, signed a one-year deal worth up to $8 million deal on Thursday.

But unlike Suggs and Ingram, who were signed during the middle of the season, Dunlap, who worked out with Chris Jones in Miami during the offseason, was signed early in training camp and will have plenty of time to master Steve Spagnuolo’s system.

Spagnuolo spoke with Dunlap Wednesday night.

“I’m always happy to add big, long guys that have experience,” Spagnuolo said.

Dunlap fills a massive need for the Chiefs. Last year they finished fourth worst in the NFL with 31 sacks and have since lost Ingram to the Miami Dolphins.

Frank Clark, who initially signed a five-year, $104 million contract with the Chiefs in 2019, is slated as one starting defensive end. But he slumped to 4.5 sacks last year, and his two-year, restructured contract has an out where the Chiefs only would owe him about $9 million if they released him after the 2022 season.

The Chiefs really seem enamored with first-round draft pick George Karlaftis and have praised his motor, but asking him to single-handedly lift the pass rush would have been a lot for a rookie.

“Every young guy that comes in,” Spagnuolo said, “there’s a little bit of a learning curve.”

Dunlap, 33, is the same age as Ingram, but he’s much bigger than Ingram, Suggs or the current Chiefs defensive ends. He’s 6-6 and 285 pounds.

That height makes him excellent at tipping passes, and he had 15 passes defended — an astounding number for a defensive end — during his Pro Bowl season in 2016.

That represented one of his two Pro Bowl appearances in a 12-year career that has included 180 games, 123 starts and 96 sacks.

“His resume speaks for itself,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said.

Jones and the Chiefs hope Dunlap can make an impact like Suggs and Ingram did. Suggs played at least 33 snaps in each of the postseason games of the Chiefs’ 2019 Super Bowl title run, including 57% of the snaps in Super Bowl LIV.

And Ingram, who Travis Kelce called the swag champ, revitalized a flailing defense last year.

“He was remarkable for us,” Jones said.

During Dunlap’s 2021 season, he started just two of 17 games last year for the Seahawks but still recorded an impressive 8.5 sacks.

The year before he was traded to the Seahawks for a seventh-round pick during the middle of the 202o season.

Now he’s set to join his third NFL team and hopes it’s a charm.