--Greg Wesley's prospects for retaining his starting strong safety job, one he has held in Kansas City since his 2000 rookie season, were simple.

He could stay at strong safety and try to beat out Sammy Knight, the new free-agent acquisition from Miami who has been one of the league's most prolific interceptors over the past five seasons. Or he could move over to the free safety position, the job held by his long-time mentor Jerome Woods.

Wesley will attempt the transition, even if that means jeopardizing not only Woods' starting job, but possibly his outstanding 10-year career with the Chiefs.

"That's the National Football League -- guys change positions all the time. Corners to safeties, safeties to corners -- you've got to be versatile," Wesley said after two days of working in the same safety tandem with Knight during the Chiefs' spring on-field coaching sessions. "There are differences in assignments between strong and free safety in this system, but it's nothing I can't handle."

Beyond that, the offseason acquisitions of Knight and Patrick Surtain added an obvious talent infusion that Wesley could sense even in early spring workouts.

"The acquisitions we made were good," he said. "We've got a good corps of guys now, and the whole thing will play itself out. I have no control over it. Right now I'm in there, so I'll take it from there."

It hurt, though, that Woods was not "in there" in the early going. Having essentially missed half of his last three seasons with two different injuries, the 32-year-old Woods did not attend the opening week of coaching sessions, and his absence raised some eyebrows. The possibility of a June 1 release cannot be discounted, even for an long-standing team leader who played in the Pro Bowl after the 2003 season.

"Jerome Woods is an outstanding young man who has never been a problem in this organization," said Vermeil, who hopes to see Woods in action today. "I was told he had some personal problems. I just think the timing of those problems is bad. He ought to be here."

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