As the first week of the NFL off-season and free agency draws to a close, many teams have already made key additions to their rosters. Some of these include some big names changing locations to get the sports world buzzing and has provided a good distraction from what is going on in the world today.
For the Kansas City Chiefs and General Manager Brett Veach, the first week of the new league year was relatively quiet.
Due to being strapped financially, the team worked to get on the right side of the salary cap while keeping a few of their own free agents.
In total, the Chiefs re-signed three of their own players, added two, franchised Chris Jones, adjusted the contract terms to one of their cap casualties, and saw four of their players relocate to other teams.
Here is a quick recap of the list of off-season moves the Chiefs have made over the past week.
Monday – March 16
On Monday, March 16, the Chiefs began their offseason by placing the Non-Exclusive Franchise Tag on star defensive tackle Chris Jones. The tag essentially gives the team time to work out a long term deal to keep Jones in Kansas City for the foreseeable future or work out a trade with another club. The tag also allows Jones to speak with other teams and if an offer sheet is signed, the Chiefs will have an opportunity to match it or risk losing him. However, if that’s the case, Kansas City will receive two first-round picks as compensation. If Jones stays in K.C. under the tag, he will be paid the average salary of the top five players at his position for the 2020 season.
The Chiefs also picked up the contract options for running back Damien Williams and linebacker Damien Wilson.
Meanwhile, cornerback Kendall Fuller signed a four-year deal worth $40 million to return to the Washington Redskins, who had traded Fullers to the Chiefs in 2018 for quarterback Alex Smith.
Tuesday – March 17
On Tuesday, March 17, the team saw defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah sign a two-year contract worth $15 million to join the Miami Dolphins.
Ogbah was a strong contributor for the Chiefs before tearing his pectoral against the Titans in Week 10 to miss the rest of the season. Ogbah finished the 2019 season with 32 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 10 games for Kansas City.
Wednesday – March 18
On Wednesday, March 18, Veach spent the first day of NFL free agency adjusting their salary cap. The top 51 cap hits on the Chiefs roster were initially putting them over their cap and needed to be under by 3 p.m.
To do this, the team converted some of defensive end Frank Clark’s salary to a signing bonus. Clark was originally due a $17 million base salary in 2020 per Terez Paylor of Yahoo! Sports.
Instead, the team gave a portion, $5 million, of his base salary as a signing bonus to turn his $22.7 million cap hit for 2020 to $18.95 million.
The length of Clark’s contract will still remain the same, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2024. The adjustment of Clark’s contract and the release of swing tackle Cam Erving put the Chiefs back under the salary cap to begin the new league year.
Thursday – March 19
On Thursday, March 19, Terez Paylor of Yahoo! Sports reported which of the two free-agent quarterbacks would return to backup Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs chose to re-sign Chad Henne on a 2-year deal instead of Matt Moore.
Henne began the 2019 season on the injured reserve which prompted the team to bring in Matt Moore, who eventually earned the backup role after saving the Chiefs’ season while Mahomes was out for a few games in the middle of the season due a dislocated knee cap.
Henne eventually returned off the team’s injured reserve list but as the third quarterback on the depth chart. He now comes back as the second-string to help Mahomes break down film and step in when necessary.
The Chiefs also lost another one of their own free agents as offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wisniewski was brought in by the Chiefs to help with the injuries the team was having along the offensive line. He eventually became a starter and helped Kansas City win Super Bowl 54.
Friday – March 20
Kansas City finally made their first moves of free agency on Friday, March 20 by agreeing on a one-year contract with defensive back Antonio Hamilton.
Hamilton was an undrafted free agent from South Carolina State, who signed with the Oakland Raiders in 2016.
Hamilton recently spent time with the New York Giants and in four NFL seasons, has just 38 career tackles and started two games.
Kansas City also signed offensive lineman Mike Remmers to a one-year deal, who was an undrafted free agent that bounced around a few practice squads before landing in Carolina in 2014.
Remmers also played for the Minnesota Vikings and most recently, for the New York Giants. Since 2014, Remmers has proved to be a consistent player that can play anywhere along the offensive line and has started in every game he’s played.
Since losing Stefen Wisniewski and the release of Cam Erving, Remmers should serve as a nice replacement who could start immediately at left guard or be a reserve off the bench when needed.
That concludes the list of moves the team has made over the previous week.
What do you think of what the Chiefs have done so far and what do you hope to see from them in the future as the off-season progresses?
