Kansas City Chiefs work out Bobby Carpenter

The Kansas City Chiefs worked out former New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and St. Louis Rams linebacker Bobby Carpenter earlier this week, per Adam Caplan. Along with Carpenter, the Chiefs also worked out LB Bryan Kehl, who has a similar skill-set as Carpenter.

A former bust out of Ohio State, Carpenter re-invented himself in the league with the Patriots and found his niche as a top coverage linebacker in sub packages. He provides a lot of veteran value to a team who needs an LB with exceptional coverage skills, and the Chiefs could use Carpenter. Derrick Johnson is one of the best and most underrated defensive players in the league, and a lot of that has to do with his coverage skills. Still, the Chiefs could really use veteran depth at the position with Carpenter fitting that bill.

To me, Carpenter was one of the most surprising cuts that the Pats made. He has great leadership ability and offers value in special teams, and he is better than guys like Tracy White and Mike Rivera. It was a surprising cut to see, and he definitely has a spot on another NFL roster with his coverage ability. Carpenter is one of the most unique players in the league today, and it’s tough that the average fan can’t see past the “bust” label and look at his body of work in one of the most underrated aspects of the game; coverage as pertaining to a linebacker.

I mean, running backs these days have become so much better at catching the ball out of the backfield; just look at two of our own in Shane Vereen and Danny Woodhead. Tight ends are now premier pass-catchers in many offenses in this league, with the Pats being the biggest example of the importance of TEs in the NFL today. Thus, having a fast linebacker like Carpenter who can cover and play a key role in sub-packages and on third downs is key.

I wish him the best in his endeavor and recommend him to the Kansas City Chiefs.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.