Chiefs Cut Lional Dalton

Carl Peterson recently stated that Lional Dalton was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs. According to a transcript on the Chiefs' website:

Q: Carl, are you releasing Lional Dalton?

PETERSON: "Yes, we are. We're activating Michael Bragg to the 53-man roster because we need corner help because of Benny Sapp being down. To make room, we had to release someone on the 53 and said goodbye to Lional Dalton who hasn't been active the last two weeks. We thank him for his participation but we're also trying to get young."

Q: Do some guys just not fit the coach's system?

PETERSON: "Every time you change coaching staffs there are players on your roster before that don't fit what the incoming head coach and assistant coaches are looking for. It was probably the situation with Lional."

Wow.

Some may not be surprised by this move. I am not one of them. I have always liked Dalton. I have always felt that his skills would have best been served playing as a run tackle only; a plug for the defensive line. While Dalton never got a whole lot of tackles as a Chief, he did a lot of the things you want out of an effective defensive tackle. Namely, he engaged blockers--not sexy in the stat book, but always important on the field. I thought he would do well in his new role as a situational tackle. Apparently, Herm Edwards had other plans.
The writing has been on the wall. Phil recently asked the question about Dalton's Houdini act. Since Herm Edwards took over as head coach, Lional Dalton has been demoted from full-time player to a space-eater--not on the defensive line, but on the bench, on the 53-man roster, on the bus. First, the Chiefs went out in the offseason and signed two tackles: James Reed and Ron Edwards. Second, Dalton loses his starting job. Third, Dalton expressed frustration for losing his starting job. Fourth, the Chiefs add undrafted rookie tackle to the Chiefs' 53-man roster. The final straw: recently, Lional Dalton was asked to serve as a guard on the Chiefs' scout team. Are you taking pause? Yes, Lional Dalton, a man who started at defensive tackle just a year ago, was asked to play guard with the team's scrubs.

Adios, Lional. You may not have been a consistent force for the Chiefs at tackle, but you always laid it all out on the line when you were on the roster. I wish you the best of luck (as long as it's not with another team in the AFC West).