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Bubby the backup Chiefs sign former Vikings QB Brister, lose out on Horne
Updated: Friday April 20, 2001 4:03 PM
By Don Banks, Sports Illustrated KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs gained a veteran backup quarterback but lost out on acquiring a kick return specialist Friday in a pair of pre-draft developments. St. Louis elected to match the Chiefs' two-year, $1.5 million offer sheet to restricted free agent Tony Horne, keeping the receiver/kick returner from joining the Rams' cross-state rival. While failing in their attempt to land Horne, the Chiefs reached a one-year contract agreement with quarterback Bubby Brister, who accepted a deal in the range of $500,000, plus incentives. Brister is scheduled to handle the No. 2 duties behind either Todd Collins, or Trent Green, if the Chiefs and Rams strike their long-anticipated trade this weekend. But if the Green deal does get done, and the Chiefs draft a quarterback or sign a collegiate free agent, Brister could turn out to be a short-term option designed to get the Chiefs through training camp. "Right now he's a backup to Collins," Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil said of Brister. "And he can still play. His workout was outstanding. It just gives us a little security at that position." Vermeil said the Chiefs still plan on either drafting a quarterback or signing a collegiate free agent in order to have at least three quarterbacks at next week's minicamp. Even if Green were acquired, he is not expected to be ready to participate until the beginning of training camp, due to his surgically repaired left knee. Brister, a 14-year NFL veteran who will be 39 in August, spent last season with Minnesota, where he backed up starter Daunte Culpepper. Brister saw mainly mop-up duty and finished 10-of-20 for 82 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. The Chiefs are very familiar with Brister, however, from his three seasons spent in the AFC West with Denver (1997-99). The loss of Horne is a blow to the Chiefs' hopes of upgrading their shoddy return units, which had a long gain kickoff return of just 38 yards last season. Horne has 3,577 kickoff return yards in his three NFL seasons, and an average return of 25 yards. He produced 1,379 yards in kickoff returns last season, with a long of 103 yards for a touchdown. St. Louis tendered Horne at the $512,000 minimum level for restricted free agents, but he will now receive $250,000 to sign with the Rams, plus base salaries of $500,000 in 2001 and $750,000 in 2002. Horne was undrafted out of college, meaning the Rams would not have received any compensation from Kansas City if they decided not to match. Vermeil said the Rams decided to match the Chiefs offer on Thursday, but chose to not announce it until Friday, the deadline for deciding whether to match an offer sheet. "The offer we made on Tony Horne was not to steal a player they wanted," said Vermeil, the former St. Louis head coach. "I don't have any intention of trying to hurt the Rams, in any way. I've got a lot of friends there. If they didn't want him, then we'd take him at our contract level. We didn't try to write a contract that they couldn't meet. It was not our intent to make it difficult." Asked who the Chiefs intend to turn to as a kick returner, Vermeil said second-year running back Dante Hall would be given an opportunity to win the job. Hall was drafted in the fifth round out of Texas A&M last year.
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