KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Tennessee Titans offer more than last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota for intrigue as Friday night’s preseason opponent at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Titans will bring with them to Kansas City eight players who once played with the Chiefs. Some, like quarterback Alex Tanney and wide receiver Rico Richardson, were little more than roster longshots during their time in Kansas City.
The Chiefs had legitimate hopes for some of the others, most notably Dexter McCluster. The Chiefs envisioned themselves getting an offensive player who was a matchup nightmare for opponents in 2010 when they drafted him in the second round.
It never worked that way, of course. McCluster found his niche as a punt returner in his final Chiefs season in 2013, but he never had a true home on offense.
In his four seasons with the Chiefs, McCluster had four different offensive coordinators, the last being Andy Reid. Most didn’t know quite what to do with him, so he was moved from slot receiver to running back and back again without much success.
The Chiefs were wise to let him go as a free agent last year. They replaced McCluster last year by drafting De'Anthony Thomas and while the Chiefs may encounter the same problem with the diminutive Thomas that they had with McCluster, Thomas is much faster and therefore would seem to have more potential as a big-play threat.
Meanwhile, McCluster moved on to Tennessee, where things weren’t any better for him. In fact, they were worse. He didn’t play a lot on offense as the Titans, like the Chiefs before them, struggled with how to best utilize him.
Maybe this will be McCluster’s breakout season. But his preseason isn’t off to a great start. He has 19 rushing yards and a touchdown on three carries but just one reception for five yards. He dropped a touchdown pass in last week’s game against the St. Louis Rams.
The other five former Chiefs who will be at Arrowhead Friday night include tight ends Anthony Fasano and Phillip Supernaw, defensive lineman Ropati Pitoitua, linebacker Andy Studebaker and kicker Ryan Succop.
