AP Photo/Stephen Brashear
The Kansas City Chiefs and two-time Pro Bowl
defensive end Carlos Dunlap reached an agreement Thursday on a one-year contract worth up to $8 million ahead of the 2022 NFL season.
Drew Rosenhaus, Dunlap’s agent, confirmed the signing to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Dunlap spent the past season and a half
with the Seattle Seahawks after beginning his career with a
decade-plus stint as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, which selected him
in the second round of the 2010 draft.
The 33-year-old South Carolina native has recorded 539 total tackles, 96 sacks, 69 passes defended,
21 forced fumbles and two interceptions across 180 regular-season
appearances.
His all-around production has dipped in
recent years, but he’s remained a productive edge-rusher with 13.5
sacks in 25 games after joining the Seahawks midway through the 2020
campaign.
Dunlap is coming off an 8.5-sack season
in 2021 that saw him receive a middling 72.1 overall grade from Pro
Football Focus.
In December, the University of Florida product
discussed becoming more of a situational pass-rusher—he played 38
percent of the defensive snaps for Seattle in 2021 after regularly
checking in over 70 percent during his time in Cincinnati—at this
stage of his career.
“This is new for me in my career,” Dunlap told reporters. “But the coaches have communicated this is
the role they want for me and would like for me, so I just took
advantage and I focused in on seizing those opportunities.”
He added it’s a lot easier to make a
more consistent impact with a heavier workload, though.
“I’m used to playing over 60
percent of the snaps my whole career and I have a consecutive streak
of being healthy, so I’d like to keep doing that because I feel
like as a rhythm rusher it’s easiest to get going when you have
more opportunities,” Dunlap said.
He’s likely ticketed for role where
he’ll split playing time with rookie George Karlaftis after his
free-agent move to the Chiefs. He joins an edge-rushing group led by
Chris Jones and Frank Clark.
Dunlap should provide a boost to
the Kansas City pass rush in 2022 as he attempts to reach the
100-sack career milestone and the 2019 champions chase another Super Bowl title.
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