After news of Dontari Poe’s impending free agent visit to the Atlanta Falcons broke earlier in the day, the Kansas City Chiefs have apparently already found his replacement. According to multiple reports, the Chiefs will sign former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Bennie Logan to a one-year deal.
To fill expected void, Chiefs and former Eagles DT Bennie Logan reach agreement on 1-year deal, per source. Looks like Dontari Poe moves on.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2017
Logan’s Eagles career began the year after Chiefs coach Andy Reid was fired by Philly and moved onto Kansas City. He then spent the better part of four years as the team’s starting defensive tackle, occupying multiple blockers while allowing the other defensive linemen to shoot gaps and make plays in the backfield.
Logan never played more than 58 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and didn’t do much work as a pass-rusher, but he could almost always be counted on to plug the middle of that defensive front. Per Pro Football Focus, he increased his number of run stops with each passing season prior to 2016, when that figure dropped precipitously, partially as a result of playing in a 4-3 defense rather than a 3-4, for which he is a better fit.
That dip in performance is likely why Logan’s signing only a one-year deal rather than cashing in with a monster new contract like, say, Baltimore’s Brandon Williams, who serves the same function on his team’s defense. Logan should slide right into Poe’s role in the Kansas City defensive front, working mostly as a run-stuffer on first and second down while the Chiefs cycle in other defensive linemen in passing situations.
With his replacement signed, this presumably means Poe will be moving on. If it’s not Atlanta, it’ll be one of the other teams on the list of his free-agent visits.
