Patrick Mahomes II dropped back to pass during a recent Chiefs practice Tracy Walker Jersey , and before the new quarterback even had time to set up, fearsome pass rusher Justin Houston was staring him in the eyes.

Without Mahomes turning his back, either.

The four-time Pro Bowl linebacker has primarily played on the right side during his career, which means he’s been chasing quarterbacks down from their blind side. But his new position coach, Mike Smith, intends to line Houston up opposite the weakest player on an opponent’s offensive line, and often that will mean facing the right tackle rather than the left.

”It doesn’t matter what side. I want to be everywhere,” Houston said this week. ”The weakest link is where I want to be. Every team is different. Everybody has a different weak link. So whoever has the weakest link, wherever it is, that’s where I want to be.”

Just so long as it’s on the field.

Houston spent a lot of time on the sideline the last few years as a career that once seemed destined for the Hall of Fame was slowed by injuries. He piled up 22 sacks in 2014, a half-sack shy of the single-season NFL record, and was rewarded with a $101 million, six-year contract that made him one of the highest-paid defensive players in the league.

But after playing well the first 11 games the following season, Houston hyperextended his knee in Week 12, and what seemed like a relatively benign injury had lasting ramifications.

He tried to return in the playoffs but was ineffective in a win over Houston and a divisional loss to New England. And that hyperextended knee turned out to reveal a ”non-functioning” ligament, causing Houston to undergo serious knee surgery in February 2016.

He wound up missing the first nine games that season, and after appearing in a handful midway through the year, was shut down until the playoffs. The Chiefs had hoped Houston would be able to help them when it mattered, but he was again ineffective in a playoff loss to Pittsburgh.

Even last season Michael Dickson Color Rush Jersey , when Houston continually professed himself healthy, he never appeared to be going full speed. He was listed as questionable on the injury report twice because of his knee, and he finished the season with 9 sacks in 15 regular-season games.

It wasn’t until training camp, a few weeks back, that he acknowledged ”playing on one leg.”

”When you have surgery, and the surgery I had on my knee, it takes time,” Houston said. ”As much as you want to be ready, it still takes time to get your pop back and get where you want to be. I think I’m there. I think I’m beyond there right now and it feels great to be back in that feeling.”

His fellow linebackers have noticed, too.

”Justin, he’s starting to really go back to that 22-sack guy, so we have an opportunity to be one of the best (pass-rushing groups) in the league,” Dee Ford said. ”People don’t understand how bad his injury was and how he also tried to play, and he tried to come back too fast, and he’s not an excuse guy and you got to really respect that.”

One could argue that nobody is more crucial to the Chiefs’ defense than Houston, given the way the defense has been overhauled. Longtime pass rusher Tamba Hali is gone, and Ford has dealt with his share of injuries, resulting in a precipitous drop in sacks the past couple of years.

Throw in the departure of playmaking cornerback Marcus Peters, who was traded to the Rams in a move designed to improve club morale Authentic Isaiah Oliver Jersey , and the pressure is on Houston to, well, create some pressure.

”Would you love to have a million sacks? Yeah, I would love that. But the biggest thing is always affecting the quarterback,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said. ”Obviously you can affect his timing. You don’t have to sack him. But as long as you are moving him, and making him get off that spot a little bit, then you can affect him.”

Houston should be able to help now that’s moving around more.

Both on his knee and all over the field.

NOTES: OLs Cam Erving (knee) and Eric Fisher (shoulder) left Thursday’s practice with ”tweaks,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. Mitchell Schwartz moved from RT to LT, Andrew Wylie took over at RT and Bryan Witzmann took over at LG. … The Chiefs are off Friday before resuming camp on Saturday.

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The Atlanta Falcons released defensive end Derrick Shelby on Friday and announced plans to release tight end Levine Toilolo.

The moves will save the team a combined $6.75 million in cap space. The cost-cutting moves could help the Falcons reach a new deal with quarterback Matt Ryan, who can be a free agent after the 2018 season.

Shelby, who signed a four-year, $18 million deal in 2016, with $7.5 million guaranteed, was set to earn $4.5 million in each of the next two seasons.

The Falcons will save $3.25 million in cap space with Shelby’s release and $3.5 million with Toilolo’s release. The team will still have a $2.5 million charge in dead money for Shelby and $2 million for Toilolo that will count against the cap.

Shelby, who turns 29 on Sunday, had 30 tackles and one sack in 2017. He started 14 games. An Achilles tendon injury limited him to six games in 2016.

He spent his first four seasons with the Miami Dolphins.

The Falcons said Toilolo will be released at the start of the new league year on March 14 with a post-June 1 designation.

Toilolo, a fourth-round pick in 2013, had 74 receptions for 723 yards and seven touchdowns in five seasons. He had 11 catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns in 2017 while sharing time with Austin Hooper and Eric Saubert.

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