KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs and cornerback Bashaud Breeland flirted extensively last summer but couldn't reach an agreement on a contract, yet that didn't stop the free agent from agreeing Monday to a one-year deal to finally come to Kansas City.
Breeland visited the Chiefs last July at training camp, spending time on the practice field as well as in the players' dormitory on the campus at Missouri Western State University. The Chiefs passed, however, due in large part to a lingering foot injury. The club believed Breeland would miss at least the first half of the season.
The free agent cornerback eventually signed a one-year deal with the Green Packers on Sept. 25. He saw his first action in Week 9, playing seven games for the Packers with five starts. He intercepted two passes, including one for a touchdown, and defensed two others while picking up 20 combined tackles. A groin injury in Week 11 kept him out of two games and limited him in two others.
The addition of Breeland provides the Chiefs with experience currently lacking at the cornerback position. Kendall Fuller returns as the team's only regular starter, although Charvarius Ward joined the starting lineup in the closing weeks of the season. Tremon Smith saw limited action on defense last season. The team also returns D'Montre Wade from the practice squad and Step Durham from injured reserve.
The team earlier signed free agent Dontae Johnson, who started 22 games for San Francisco from 2014 to 2017. He played just a single contest with Buffalo last year.
Breeland initially signed a three-year, $24 million deal with Carolina in March 2018 but failed his physically due to his foot injury. He cut his foot on a trip to the Dominican Republic, and the would later became infected.
The 27-year-old Breeland established himself as a premier pass defender during his first four seasons with Washington, picking up eight interceptions with 60 other passes defended. He picked up a career-best 81 total tackles in 2015.
Breeland's arrival in Kansas City reunites him with Fuller, a former teammate in Washington. The duo spent two seasons together in Washington. Fuller said last July he tried to recruit Breeland to Chiefs on his visit to St. Joseph.
“I talked to him here, we had lunch together, things like that,” Fuller said.
