AFCWEST

Who do you pay? Will Chris Jones be with the Kansas City Chiefs beyond the 2022 season? His current contract and Aaron Donald’s new deal create some big questions for Brett Veach. Let’s get this out of the way: We all want interior defensive lineman Chris Jones to be a member of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023 and beyond. However, the NFL is a business and sometimes that means teams have to make tough decisions that may or may not come back to bite them. With Aaron Donald signing a new contract, making him the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history, a new contract for Jones just became exponentially more complicated. The Salary Cap Situation As previously stated, the NFL is a business, and the salary cap is a real factor when building a team. The cap for the 2022 NFL season is $208.2 million, while the Over The Cap is projecting the 2023 NFL cap ceiling to be $225 million. Also according to Over The Cap, with the projected $225 million cap ceiling, the Chiefs are projected to have around $16 million in cap space for 2023 with approximately 42 roster spots taken (after Joshua Williams signs his rookie contract). Chris Jones’ 2023 cap hit is scheduled to be about $27.04 million, with $20 million of that being base salary and a workout bonus. Because 2023 is the final year of Jones’ current contract, the Chiefs (next offseason) will be unable to restructure his contract to push money down the road to save cap $ immediately. The only realistic way the Chiefs can reduce his cap hit is to A.) Release him and save $20 million or, B.) Trade him and also save $20 million or, C.) Extend his contract beyond 2023 and save anywhere from $5-15 million on the 2023 cap. (That depends on how the new extension is structured.) I feel like it’s safe to say that option C is the preferred choice among Chiefs fans, with option B being the next choice and option A as the last resort in case of a drastic decline in Jones’ level of play.

Brown has not participated thus far in the team’s offseason program. Because he is technically unsigned, Brown is also unlikely to participate in next week’s mandatory minicamp unless a long-term agreement were to unexpectedly come together quickly. While away from his teammates, Brown is training at a private facility in Miami. The three-time Pro Bowl selection addressed a recent clip that showed him playing tennis as part of his training. Brown is placing a high amount of faith in Portner — who has never negotiated an NFL contract. Between the player wanting to be in Kansas City — and the Chiefs having already invested heavily in acquiring him — perhaps the factors are in place for smooth negotiations over the next few weeks.

AKIEM HICKSDL, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS Buccaneers signed DL Akiem Hicks, formerly of the Bears, to a one-year contract worth "up to" $10 million. "Up to" is probably doing a lot of heavy lifting as Hicks didn't have much of a market. Phenomenal earlier in his run in Chicago, Hicks has played just 1,357 snaps over the past three seasons as injuries have hit the 32-year-old hard. He'll be a good fit for the Bucs in Ndamukong Suh's old role, assuming he can stay healthier in Tampa.

Jordan Schultz @Schultz_Report Make no mistake: #Chiefs want to extend 3x Pro Bowl LT Orlando Brown before the July 15 deadline. I’m told Brown, just 26, has been in interview mode with multiple agents - as Kansas City stands by. Brett Veach is a huge fan of Brown and knows he’s essential to long-term success. https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2022/5/31/23148470/report-chiefs-intend-to-sign-left-tackle-orlando-brown-before-july-deadline

I was unaware. This may explain some things. Speaking of Health… Just a few months ago, Edwards-Helaire appeared on the Arrowhead Addict podcast and broke the news that last offseason was a frustrating one for him since he was not healthy. When his gall bladder stopped working after the team’s second consecutive Super Bowl appearance, Edwards-Helaire says he got as low as 160 lbs. (That’s 45 lbs. for a player who is one of the lighter guys on the roster as it is.) That means that heading into his second season, instead of working out and improving on his game, he was simply trying to stay healthy and recover from a surgery that would eat his entire offseason. He’s never once been healthy coming into a year like this offseason, which means this is going to be the first offseason where Edwards-Helaire is coming in ready and able to build on something.

I think he will hold out of camp and agree not likely to sit out.

Yes if only some of these guys were realists. Common sense...nope.... LOL I hope he does not hold out but I think he will.

Whatever

I think we can all read. Yes what you say is obvious. Nobody knows for sure. Its still worth discussing. Its just BS anyway. We also know he has not signed the tag. The drama goes forward.

It may not be a good strategy but I think he will use it. We shall see. He has not signed the tag? He went from I just want to be a LT for Dad to I want to be the highest paid and most guaranteed. Reality for me is he is right tackle is his best position.

Yes grain of salt until we know for sure. Did KC not get a second round from Balt? What if he holds out? What if he does want the highest contract? Honest questions. How would you feel about that?

If he holds out I think they also give Thuney reps there. He played a good game at LT last year and KC has several decent guards now.

I think he will hold out and not play under the tag. He showed his colors as a Raven. I hope he does not do it.

Maybe KC is looking at a different approach. Letting the big contract guys go , unless they are extremely valuable to the team, conserving draft picks and keeping the roster fresh. It is hard to see why Kelce makes so much less than some of these other position guys. Maybe the NFL position pay scale thing will also start to become different. Kelce may be the most valuable Chief after Mahomes. Kelce is more valuable than Hill. I know its an NFL thing. But seriously pay for value to the team vs position.

I have gone on record predicting KC will ad a LT in free agency or draft a LT next season letting Brown walk. Yes I get grief but its just a prediction. May be more appetizing with this revelation? Orlando Brown, seeking new agent, is about to make a big request of the Kansas City Chiefs | OutKick

Yep. Hoping!

Nick Korte of Over The Cap has a fairly perfected formula for figuring out what picks each team will get and he has the Chiefs now down for two extra picks in 2023: one for Ingram to the Dolphins and another for the Jarran Reed signing to the Green Bay Packers. Yes, the Chiefs lost bigger free agents than that—including Charvarius Ward as one example—but they also signed solid players like safety Justin Reid. Right now, here’s a look at the complete list of draft picks for the Chiefs in the 2023 NFL Draft: First round Second round Third round Third round (comp, Ryan Poles) Fourth round Fourth round (trade, Tyreek Hill) Fifth round Sixth round Sixth round (trade, Tyreek Hill) Sixth round (comp, Melvin Ingram) Seventh round Seventh round (comp, Jarran Reed)

As Reid said, the media look showed good attendance for the workout, with only 11 absent Chiefs — offensive lineman Orlando Brown, linebacker Jermaine Carter, defensive end Frank Clark, wide receiver Mecole Hardman, quarterback Chad Henne, wide receiver Daurice Fountain, defensive tackle Chris Jones, offensive lineman Lucas Niang, defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, safety Juan Thornhill and tight end Mark Vital.

In any case, Monson places new Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid — who joined the team during the offseason — at the bottom of his All-Around... uh... Group. For reference, Monson placed former Kansas City safety Tyrann Mathieu (now with the New Orleans Saints) second in his “Matchup Slot Tier.” It’s also important to note that Monson is only ranking half of the league’s starting safeties — so presumably, there are other “all-around” safeties who would be ranked underneath Reid. Takeaway Monson speaks the truth when he says that Reid’s recent PFF grades haven’t been good. In 2021, his overall grade was just 50.8. But as he notes, they were much better earlier in his career. Reid received a PFF grade of 75.2 during his 2018 rookie season (when he was playing alongside Mathieu with the Houston Texans) and 76.7 the following year, after Mathieu had moved on to the Chiefs. But I have to note that I think this is the first time I can recall a PFF writer mentioning that a player’s grade might have something to do with those playing around him. AFC WEST TAKE: Hope he vastly improves. KC gave him more the HB received. I do remember KL torching that secondary.

Yes or maybe any decent running back can do well in kC cause the Defense is begging them to run. Good oline and teams playing back = wide open lanes. Just need a head coach and a QB on RPOs that stays with the run game.

Whatever. I dont need to beat THAT SO CALLED DEAD HORSE. I hope he plays extremely well and gets a great contract. KEY: Plays extremely well.

Not Brown.

You still cant sign unlimited guys at 20 million just cause the caps up and MAY be a good deal 3 years from not. Also could be Clark or Watkins or Berry.

I doubt CEH puts up Williams Numbers. This guy was underrated. Will be missed. Over 1,000 total yards. DARREL WILLIAMSRB, ARIZONA CARDINALS Cardinals signed RB Darrel Williams, formerly of the Chiefs. He visited the Cardinals in early April. Arizona couldn't do better than Keontay Ingram and Eno Benjamin as James Conner's backups this offseason, so this was a pretty nice landing spot for the veteran back. He could carry some fantasy value if (when) the oft-dinged Conner gets dinged again. Williams rushed for a career-high 558 yards last season and added 452 receiving yards on 57 targets out of the backfield.

Browns signed EDGE Jadeveon Clowney to a one-year deal worth "up to" $11 million. Cleveland brings the mercenary EDGE back into the fold, where he'll start next to Myles Garrett. Clowney had nine sacks in 14 starts with the Browns last year, adding 52 more quarterback pressures per Sports Info Solutions. It's a huge hold for the Cleveland D/ST. Cleveland had a league-high $27 million in cap space coming into today so it'll be interesting to see how much of it actually gets held up as they have been connected to Will Fuller and Odell Beckham.