Skip to main content

Donnie Avery, Kansas City Chiefs strike deal

The Kansas City Chiefs quietly have done a nice job building up their roster since free agency started Tuesday. Tight end Anthony Fasano and defensive lineman Mike Devito were no-frills signings that should make the Chiefs better.

That trend continued Wednesday with the signing of wide receiver Donnie Avery. NFL.com's Ian Rapoport first reported the deal, which was later confirmed by the team.

Free-agent tracker

Where will Greg Jennings wind up? Follow him and all the other NFL players on the move in our free-agent tracker. More ...

Avery is coming off a career year with the Indianapolis Colts in which he gained 781 yards. He's a deep threat who hasn't been overly consistent or healthy in his career, so we'll be curious to see how much noise he makes.

Still, the Chiefs' offense is in better shape. Fasano and Tony Moeaki make a nice tight end combination. Avery will pair with Dwayne Bowe and Jonathan Baldwin at wide receiver. The quarterback depth chart is set with Alex Smith and Chase Daniel. It's going to be tough for all these disparate pieces to come together quickly, but the Chiefs didn't exactly mortgage their future with monster contracts. (That includes the deal for cornerback Dunta Robinson.)

The Chiefs are set up well to survive a few free-agent mistakes and still improve.

Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter@greggrosenthal.