Welcome back, Donnie
This could be fun. Donnie Edwards returns in a Kansas City uniform this Sunday, one year after general manager A.J. Smith tried to trade him but found no takers, so unhappy was he with Edwards' desire for more money.
Edwards, playing right outside linebacker in a 4-3 rather than an inside spot in the 3-4 that he played with the Chargers, is still productive. He's third on the Chiefs in tackles with 21, 14 of them unassisted. He has two tackles for loss, an interception (his 28th, the most of any active NFL linebacker) and a fumble recovery.
He brings some other things as well, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said.
"We had 18 new players out there when we arrived," the coach (no relation) said. "Donnie does play a good role in the fact that he brings leadership to a pretty young group. If you take him and our two corners out of the mix, we’re pretty young on defense. We have five new starters over there. We’re fairly young and trying to develop a mentality of playing good defense. We have a ways to go yet.
“He’s a leader. The guys look up to him for what he’s accomplished. If you look at his career, he seems a little underrated in my opinion. As a linebacker, he has 27 (now 28) interceptions. He gets overlooked and I really don’t know why that is. He’s very good in pass defense. He has good range, great hands and is a guy that fits in our system.”
And Herm was asked how motivated Donnie was going to be this week.
“I think trying to keep him contained is the real thing," he said. "He has a lot of respect for a lot of the players on that team. He’s won a lot of games there. Obviously when you come home, you get excited.”
Donnie Edwards also brings with him some intimate knowledge of the Chargers, though quarterback Philip Rivers cautioned against making too much of it.
"Donnie knows more about the people rather than the scheme," Rivers said. "Obviously, we've changed up some things. He's seen some of it ... he'll be able to give insights on what Kris Dielman likes to do, Nick Hardwick.
"It's a similarity like we had with Coach (Ron) Rivera with the Bears. It can only take you so far."