Ronnie

Cruz

He takes over for 11-year veteran Tony Richardson, who left for Minnesota this offseason. Cruz was a special teams contributor in his rookie year.

Cruz may have been the Chiefs’ starting fullback in 2007 had his recovery from a torn ACL not progressed slower than anticipated. Hannah was an undrafted rookie last year. Both will compete for roster spots.

Cruz got an injury settlement. Butler was seventh on the depth chart at corner at best. Terrell was fourth at QB. The others were undrafted.

It didn’t look good. Cruz replaced Tony Richardson as the team’s lead blocker this year.

Cruz, injured in a Week 6 blowout loss to Pittsburgh, was Kansas City’s only fullback on their roster. The Chiefs might have to scour the waiver wire for Larry Johnson’s new lead blocker. It could be an unheralded blow to the value of L.J., who isn’t a bad sell-high at this point.

Cruz’s season is over, so Kris Wilson will start at fullback. It’s more bad news for Larry Johnson, who lost Tony Richardson before the season.

He’ll need to be re-signed first, but if Cruz has been on track towards full recovery, there is a remote chance the Chiefs would let free agent Tony Gonzalez walk and use Kris Wilson as their starting tight end in 2007.