Tyvon Branch, Kansas City Chiefs Agree on Contract

With the Oakland Raiders officially cutting Tyvon Branch, per The Associated Press (via Fox Sports), the oft-injured safety was one of the intriguing players on the market for teams looking to bolster their roster. The Chiefs acted quickly and signed Branch Tuesday. 

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Branch, Chiefs Reach Agreement

Tuesday, March 10

“We are excited we were able to reach a deal with Tyvon and bring him to Kansas City,” Chiefs General Manager John Dorsey said, per the Chiefs' official website. “He is a physical player who we feel can help our defense. We’re looking forward to having him.”

"Former Raiders S Tyvon Branch to the Chiefs. One-year deal," reported Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo prior to the Chiefs' announcement. "Tyvon Branch's 1yr deal w/KC could be worth max of $4M. Has base w/ in-game bonuses of $2M," added CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora.

"They are losing starting SS Ron Parker, this makes sense," stated Ian Rapoport of NFL.com yesterday.

Branch has played in just five games over the past two years due to injuries, accumulating 34 tackles and two sacks in that time. The 28-year-old has spent his entire seven-year career with the Raiders and was excellent from 2009-12, registering at least 94 tackles in each of those seasons while totaling six sacks and three interceptions in those campaigns.

While his injury concerns will give teams pause and it's arguable that Branch isn't really the versatile safety that modern NFL defenses crave—he's better suited playing in the box—he's never been a liability covering tight ends or even receivers in man-to-man coverage.

Of course, his ability to play that style was before injury woes kept him largely out of the lineup for the better part of two seasons.