According to the Chiefs’ official website, Kansas City traded quarterback Tyler Thigpen to the Dolphins for an undisclosed draft pick.

Miami was forced to make this move after Chad Pennington suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in a loss to the Chargers in Week 3. With only Chad Henne and Pat White on the depth chart, Thigpen gives the Dolphins more experience at the quarterback position.

That said, Henne will remain the Dolphins’ starter because the team wants to get a better look at the former second round pick out of Michigan. Given Pennington’s age (33) and injury history, there’s a good chance that Miami won’t re-sign him when he becomes a free agent in the offseason. But they still want to see whether or not Henne is capable of taking over the starting job before the jettison a veteran quarterback like Pennington, who led Miami to an AFC East title last season.

As for the Chiefs, they were hoping to acquire a fourth round pick in exchange for Thigpen this summer after they traded for Matt Cassel, but I doubt they got more than a fifth rounder from Miami.

Thigpen isn’t a bad fantasy quarterback. He was QB12 last year even though he was second string early in the season. His 18.8 fppg average was 10th-best in the league. He posted some good garbage time numbers for the Chiefs because they were trailing for most of the season. The job is Henne’s to start, but if he falters or gets injured, Thigpen could be a sneaky good pickup in deeper fantasy leagues.

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel is in jeopardy of missing Week 1 of the regular season after suffering an MCL injury in Kansas City’s most recent preseason game.

From Yahoo! Sports.com:

Cassel, who the Chiefs acquired in a trade with New England this offseason, was hurt Saturday night in an exhibition game against Seattle. The injury is not expected to require surgery because MCL injuries usually heal on their own.

However, the injury means Cassel could miss the Chiefs’ season opener at Baltimore on Sept. 13. If Cassel can’t play, Tyler Thigpen(notes) is expected to start the season. Thigpen, who had been the subject of trade rumors earlier this week, played in 14 games last season when the Chiefs went through injuries at quarterback. He finished the season with 18 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 76.0.

The fact that he won’t need surgery is good for the long-term status of the team, although it has to be disappointing for both Cassel and the Chiefs that he won’t be lining up under center in Week 1.

After a brutal start last season, Thigpen actually played well in the second half and offers Todd Haley starting experience. That doesn’t mean that Thigpen will fair well in Baltimore, but at least Haley doesn’t have to worry about trotting out a rookie QB in his team’s season opener.

One thing to note is that Thigpen has leapfrogged Brodie Croyle on the Chiefs’ depth chart. Croyle was the Week 1 starter last year and was once viewed as the long-term answer under center. His time as a starter definitely came to an end when the team acquired Cassel, although now it appears that even his time as a backup (at least in Kansas City) could be dwindling as well.

Obviously, this is worrisome for Cassel owners, but if you’re following our QBBC strategy, and drafted Cassel as part of a committee, you probably weren’t planning to use Cassel against the Ravens in Week 1 anyway. He should be able to play in Week 2 or Week 3 at the latest, so while his value is certainly hurt as a starting QB, he still holds similar value as a backup or a part of a committee.

Notable Free Agents: Jason Babin, DE; Rocky Boiman, LB; Oliver Celestin, FS.

Projected 2009 Cap Space: $33,000,000

Draft Order: 3

Top Needs: The Chiefs have a variety of holes to fill this offseason, from the interior of their offensive line, to linebacker to safety and No. 2 wide receiver.

Offseason Outlook: Despite the lack of overall roster talent, the Chiefs aren’t a bad situation to walk into for new GM Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley. The team has plenty of cap space, a high draft pick and not one marquee free agent to re-sign. Pioli is essentially working with a clean slate to begin his era in Kansas City.

That said, there are some underlining issues on the horizon. Tight end Tony Gonzalez and running back Larry Johnson, two players who will be counted on to spark the revival in Kansas City, have both expressed a desire to be traded this offseason. Gonzalez has wavered a bit in his demands, but it’s clear that LJ wants out of KC and maybe Pioli will grant his wish as long as the Chiefs can land proper compensation for the star back.

Another area Pioli might address is at quarterback, where incumbent Tyler Thigpen played well enough in the second half of the season to merit a crack at the starting spot, but probably isn’t the long-term answer. Considering Pioli is coming over from New England, he could look into what it would take to acquire Matt Cassel. Don’t count on it though. KC has the No. 3 overall pick and certainly won’t part with that high of a pick for Cassel, especially when you consider he might have been a product of the Patriots’ outstanding offensive system. Don’t be surprised if Thigpen is the Chiefs’ starter under center again next year.

It’s that old notion – go for two and make it, you’re a genius. Go for two and fail to convert, you’re a goat. Well, Kansas City head coach Herman Edwards will have to play goat this week as his decision to go for two late in the fourth quarter in San Diego on Sunday backfired as the Chargers beat the Chiefs 20-19.

It’s hard to criticize Edwards (or any head coach for that matter) who goes for two when his team is 1-8 and on the road. When the Chiefs scored to cut the deficit to 20-19 with only 29 seconds remaining in the game, they had stolen on the all momentum after driving 60 yards on 14 plays. Edwards figured that his best chance to win was right there at the goal line, instead of trying his luck in overtime. Again, at 1-8, screw it. Go for the win. Obviously it didn’t work out well for Herm, but I don’t blame him for the thought process.

Even though his team lost, what a game by quarterback Tyler Thigpen (27 for 41, 266 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs). Maybe he has a place in the league after all. It appears that KC has taken the training wheels off him the past couple weeks and have allowed him to throw downfield. He looked great Sunday, especially throwing to tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had a fantastic touchdown catch in this game that showed his immense concentration.

Speaking of which, the Chargers shouldn’t scare anyone. They’re pedestrian at best and their defense still has a ton of holes. Whichever team between them and Denver gets to nine wins this year will win the AFC West.

Free agent quarterback Daunte Culpepper canceled a visit with the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this week because he claimed he had a better offer from another team. Apparently that other team is the Detroit Lions.

A source has confirmed that free agent quarterback Daunte Culpepper is visiting the Lions today and will go through a workout but the team is making no comment.

It’s not usual for free agents to visit teams on Tuesday, the day that clubs continue to maintain their “short list” in case of injury to other players. Last week, the Lions brought in free agent quarterback Tim Rattay for a workout.

I know that money is probably playing into this, but what does it say for the Chiefs when players (even if they are Daunte Culpepper) would rather go to winless Detroit to play? It’s not like Culpepper would have any better or worse chance of playing in Detroit as he would Kansas City. Who’s going to stop him – Tyler Thigpen? The Chiefs are a mess.

I love the NFL.

I mean, I love the NFL. If it were at all possible, I would go out to Jared, purchase a ring, take the NFL out for a lovely dinner, drop to a knee and ask the NFL to marry me.

That said, there are three things that NFL teams do that absolutely infuriate me. All 32 teams have done these three things throughout the years and continue to do them on a weekly basis. And if you’re a fan of the NFL, there’s no doubt your favorite team has done these three things, as well.

1. Choose to receive the ball when they win the coin toss
This absolutely chaps my hide because it’s an ego thing for teams. They want the ball first because they want to “set the tone� and have the mentality that they can take their opening drive and shove it down their opponents’ throat.

But how many times as a fan have you heard a player, coach or announcer say, “Football is a game of emotion?� Hundreds, probably. So why, oh why, do teams win the coin toss and chose to receive? If football is a game of emotion and defense is all about emotion, why not put them on the field first? They’re rested, pumped up and if they force the opponent to punt, your team not only has momentum and field position, but you also get the ball back at halftime.

I understand why teams chose to receive first; among other reasons, they believe they can get the first score and seize momentum. But even if they do score first, the opposing team still has almost four full quarters to swing momentum back in their favor and either tie or capture the lead.

One of the smartest things I saw in Week 3 come in the Dallas-Green Bay Sunday night game. Head coach Wade Phillips and his Cowboys were on the road and playing in a hostile environment. When they won the coin toss, they took advantage of a new league rule that allows teams to defer to the second half, meaning Dallas chose to get the ball at halftime. So, they put their defense on the field first, forced a fumble and eventually wound up taking a 3-0 lead. At halftime, the ‘Boys led 13-6 and had the luxury of getting the ball back in the second half. Granted they didn’t get any points in their first possession of the third quarter, but at least they had the opportunity to extend the lead. And let’s say the score was reversed and Green Bay had a 13-6 lead, at least the Cowboys would have had the chance to tie it early in the third quarter because they chose to defer to the second half. Not every team is going to force a fumble on their opponents’ first possession, but a three and out and punt can have the same affect.

After stumbling last week in Tampa, the Falcons returned to the Georgia Dome this Sunday and promptly crushed the Chiefs, 38-14.

Rookie QB Matt Ryan completed 12 of 18 passes for 192 yards and also threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to WR Roddy White (5 rec., 119 yards, 1 TD). As with their win over the Lions in the opener, the Falcons stuck mostly to the ground game as Michael Turner rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns.

Atlanta has two wins over brutal teams, but Ryan is gaining confidence with each victory. Ryan needs to prove he can play on the road though. He looked bad last week in Tampa and will get tested by another division foe next week when the Falcons travel to Carolina.

Chiefs’ QB Tyler Thigpen had another rough day, throwing three interceptions. He had to deal with some dropped passes, but he also missed receivers badly all game. Larry Johnson (24 carries, 121 yards, 1 TD) bounced back from last week’s dismal performance, but without the threat of a passing game, he could only do so much. The Chiefs are in for a long year.

Rotoworld.com (via Jay Glazer of FOX Sports.com) is reporting that the Kansas City Chiefs contacted Cleveland about acquiring second year quarterback Brady Quinn, but the Browns turned them down.

Cleveland turned them down and Quinn dynasty owners can only hope that the Browns don’t reconsider. With Cleveland 0-2 and Derek Anderson struggling mightily over his past seven games, Quinn’s chances of taking over at some point appear pretty good. Also interesting to note: Chiefs fans recently started a “GetBradyNow.com” website. We doubt a deal will happen.

The Chiefs are hurting. Brodie Croyle wasn’t ready to be an NFL starter, but KC had little choice but to throw him into the fire this year and now he’s out with a separated shoulder. Croyle’s backup, Damon Huard, got hurt last week and now former Vikings-reject Tyler Thigpen is the starter. (Yikes.)

With how bad Anderson has been in two games, the Browns had no choice but to turn the Chiefs away. If Anderson continues to struggle, there’s no doubt Romeo Crennel will throw Quinn into the mix in efforts to save his job.