According to Fox Sports, Kansas City has traded DT Tank Tyler to the Panthers in return for a fifth round pick in the 2010 draft.

The move upgrades Carolina’s defensive line depth significantly, while simultaneously making the Chiefs weaker in the same area, but given KC’s likelihood of finishing off the season poorly, adding another pick to deep draft next year makes more sense than keeping a role player like Tyler around to play a few snaps a week.

Tyler was a third round pick out of North Carolina State by the previous regime in Kansas City, but did not play well enough thus far in the Chiefs new 3-4 defensive scheme to keep the coaching staff in his corner. Transitioning back into the 4-3 scheme employed by the Panthers should be much easier, giving Carolina a talented player to us in their rotation.