Touchdown River Falls

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs rolled into UW-River Falls Thursday afternoon ready to begin the journey of the 2008 season.

As always, not much has changed in western Wisconsin over the last year, although when looking through the telescope of 18 years here in the north woods, this little burgh has changed quite a bit.  When the Chiefs first arrived in River Falls back in 1991, the road into town off I-94 was two lanes with nothing but corn fields on both sides of the highway.

Now it’s a four-lane road with a multiplex theater at the beginning and housing developments on the north and south of the road.

The Chiefs players and coaches are in a new dorm this year, moving out of McMillan Hall and into the South Fork Suites, a dorm that opened just last year.  It’s the first time the players and coaches will live in the same building.  The rest of the staff that made the trip here returns for another summer to the appropriately named Grimm Hall.

Before the team left Kansas City, first-round draft choice Branden Albert signed a contract with the team. The five-year deal will allow him to begin work on Friday at left tackle.

There are two draft choices still unsigned: No. 1 pick DT Glenn Dorsey and the team’s last selection, TE Michael Merritt.  Here’s the skinny on both players.

Dorsey’s agent is Joel Segal, known throughout the NFL as a negotiating foot dragger.  Segal is one of those agents always worried about recruiting his next clients, especially in a situation like the No. 5 position where Dorsey was drafted.  While the four players ahead of Dorsey have signed, Segal wants to see what the players behind him will sign for before committing to a deal.

The situation with Merritt has nothing to do with negotiating and contracts.  At the end of his season at Central Florida last year, Merritt suffered a broken left fibula and right now he cannot pass the Chiefs physical.  With the camp rosters stuck at 80 players, the Chiefs do not want to give up a roster spot that will not be used.

When the NFL roster cut down to 75 players happens on August 26, the Chiefs will be able to sign Merritt and then place him on the reserve/non-football injury list, thus not tying up a spot on the pre-season roster.