Will the Chiefs carry a fullback on the 53-man roster in 2021?
Kansas City Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman announced his retirement on Thursday after eight seasons with the team. Sherman has held down the fullback position in the Chiefs’ offense during years when the position looked to be going extinct in the NFL. Now, for the first time since Andy Reid’s arrival in Kansas City, the team is without a clear starter at the position.
Reid has always used a fullback in his offenses, dating back to his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999. Even as his scheme has become more and more pass-heavy over the years, he’s yet to shy away from having a true fullback on the roster. Could Sherman’s departure signal a change in heart, though? Sherman did very recently mention on NFL Network that he was interested in playing in Kansas City for another season. Was this just an issue of a lessened salary cap forcing a veteran free agent out or is there something more at play here?
One thing we know is that the demise of the fullback position in the NFL has been greatly exaggerated. They might not be used as they were once used, purely as blockers, back when NFL’s offenses were predicated on running the ball. They’re asked to do a bunch of different things nowadays, be it lining up in different spots, running the ball, catching the ball and special teams work.
Fullbacks are also much more prevalent on rosters than you’d think. According to Spotrac, 20-of-32 NFL teams currently have a fullback under contract on their rosters. Some of those teams even have multiple fullbacks signed, at least for the offseason. That doesn’t even consider a team like Kansas City that has historically carried a fullback but doesn’t currently have one on the roster.
Another thing that we know is that the Chiefs have signaled a slight departure from the norm lately. In 2019, they brought in former Princeton QB John Lovett as an undrafted free agent and converted him into an H-Back. That position is essentially a hybridized fullback and tight end, with emphasis on playing on the wings, set back from the line of scrimmage. Lovett dealt with injuries and ultimately ended up a free agent, signing with the Green Bay Packers. If Brett Veach doesn’t go the way of signing a traditional fullback like Sherman, maybe an H-Back is an option that the team will explore.
Replacing Sherman, specifically, will be a tough task for Kansas City. Beyond the intangibles, like his presence and leadership in the locker room, he’s never played fewer than 53% of the special teams snaps in a single season for the Chiefs. He’s also been surehanded, never recording a catch rate lower than 50% during his career. According to PFF’s Wins Above Replacement metric, Sherman was the second-most-valuable fullback in the NFL from 2013-2020.
Ultimately, bringing in someone who can do everything that Sherman did in Kansas City will be a tough task for the front office. It might take a village to make up the type of impact that he had on the team. Whether the Chiefs carry a true fullback on the roster in 2021 could come down to their ability to identify a player that can either meet or exceed the type of production and impact that Sherman had.
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Chiefs players congratulate Anthony Sherman on his retirement
