National Football League

Chiefs sign Mississippi State track standout to deal

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:08 p.m. ET

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The Kansas City Chiefs signed Mississippi State track and field standout Tautvydas Kieras on Friday, even though the projected linebacker never played football for the Bulldogs.

The 6-foot-3, 271-pound Lithuanian set the school record in the discus and was accomplished in the shot put. But with his college career wrapping up, Kieras decided to give football a try. After training in Las Vegas for Mississippi State's pro day, he pushed 225 pounds 24 times on the bench press, jumped 35 inches in the vertical and posted a sub-4.7-second 40-yard dash.

The Chiefs have a history of signing players without much football experience. Tight end Demetrius Harris played basketball for Wisconsin-Milwaukee before catching on with the team.

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