Monday
The Kansas City Chiefs bid farewell to linebacker Derrick Johnson earlier this month, ending his 13-year run with the franchise. A handful of Johnson’s teammates paid tribute to the Chiefs' all-time leading tackler on social media following the announcement. * *
A player that will try to fill the void left by Johnson is linebacker Reggie Ragland, who enjoyed a strong first season in Kansas City.
Ragland, who was taken in the second round (No. 41 overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Bills out of Alabama—where he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in his last season—missed his entire rookie season after suffering a knee injury in camp.
Less than a year removed from the injury, the Bills decided that it was better off to send Ragland off to the Chiefs for a future mid-round pick rather than keep him, which led Chiefs' general manager Brett Veach, who hadn't been on the job all that long, to making one of his best moves thus far in charge of the Chiefs' roster.
After taking some time to get his knee fully healthy, Ragland ended up starting 10 games for the Chiefs last year, amassing 31 total tackles from his inside linebacking position.
We discussed Ragland's performance in another edition of "Triple Coverage."
Away from the field, tight end Travis Kelce released a series of GIFs for fans to use.
He's excited about it.
Tuesday
The NFL's franchise tag window opened on Tuesday, marking the beginning of the two-week designation period.
The two-week franchise tag window opened on Tuesday, February 20, and will last for two weeks, ending on Tuesday, March 6 at 3:00 p.m. CT. That's the last day teams can place any one of the three franchise tag designations on any one player.
Only one player per team per season can receive a franchise designation.
Those designations are broken down into three separate types: exclusive, non-exclusive and transition.
For all three of these designations, the salary is guaranteed once the player has signed his tender and can only be voided if the player fails to establish or maintain excellent physical condition, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Chiefs last used the franchise tag in 2016 on safety Eric Berry. Details on how each designation works can be found here.
Wednesday
The offseason is a time for players to take a break from the grind of an NFL season, whether that be spending time with family, picking up old hobbies or, in Mitchell Schwartz's case, international diplomacy.
Kansas City's starting right tackle spent last week touring Israel with his brother and former Chief, Geoff Schwartz.
"We're just really excited to be here," Schwartz said in an interview with Israeli television. "It's our first time and we've been talking about coming here for a while, so when this opportunity came up we couldn't turn it down."
The Kansas City Chiefs allowed 21.2 points per game in 2017, ranking in the middle of the pack statistically, but the strength of the unit was once again in its ability to create turnovers.
The Chiefs tallied 26 takeaways on the year, leading to 78 points on offense.
Here’s a deeper look at the Chiefs' defense last season by the numbers.
Thursday
Defensive tackle Chris Jones put together a strong second season for the Chiefs in 2017, tallying 22 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, an interception, seven passes defensed, 13 quarterback hits, five tackles for loss and four forced fumbles - which ranked among the most in the league.
We broke down Jones' season in this edition of "Triple Coverage."
Offensive guard Laurent-Duvernay Tardif put down his pads and picked up a microphone this month as a reporter covering the Winter Olympics for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The four-year veteran chronicled his experience in PyeongChang in a first-hand essay.
[Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Describes His Experience at the Olympics
Duvernay-Tardif's unique background as both an athlete and a medical student allows him to explore how the competitors prepare for their events from a different perspective.
"Being here, I learned a lot about training while in competition," Duvernay-Tardif explained. "You don't realize it, but Olympic athletes are here for three weeks and compete anywhere from one to three or four times -- or even participate in full tournaments. They have to train in between events, and sometimes even the day after competing. Training (or not training) at the right level of intensity can optimize your performance, and I was able to relate a lot of it to football."
The NFL Combine is coming up next week, bringing together some of the best college prospects in the nation. A handful of those players have drawn comparisons to current and former Chiefs, including All-Pro safety Eric Berry.
Friday
The Chiefs celebrated Black History Month on Friday by visiting the Black Archives of Mid-America along with a handful of local high school football players.
Chiefs' Vice President of Communications Ted Crews and Ambassador Kevin Lockett joined the athletes from nearby Lincoln College Prep Academy at the museum, which addresses the influences of African Americans in the Kansas City community throughout history.
The NFL awarded 32 compensatory picks on Friday, with the Chiefs receiving a sixth-round selection.
We've been looking back at the top social posts from the 2017 season over the past month and continued to do so this week with the top Facebook videos from the season.
Saturday
Finally, we continued our article series dedicated to highlighting the top photos of the 2017 season on Saturday with No. 9 – "Eyes on a Catch."
