Yesterday I posted an item from CBS 21 News regarding the future of Kansas City Chiefs FB Mike Cox. The author of the piece, Jason Bristol, as well as quotes from Cox, indicated he would become a free agent. Here are the quotes:
Cox, a graduate of Red Land High School, told CBS 21 News on Tuesday night his contract is up and he's about to become a free agent after playing two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Hopefully (other) teams have enough stuff (of me) on film and I'll just have to see what goes down," said Cox of his uncertain future.
However, a league source pointed out to me last night that Cox is actually an exclusive rights free agent, which is a whole lot different.
An ERFA is a player with 0-2 years of experience whose contract has expired. The club owns his rights and he can not negotiate with other teams provided the club makes a minimum qualifying offer. Basically, if the Chiefs make an offer, he has the choice of accepting and playing for the Chiefs or not playing at all.
The quotes above indicate (to me at least) that he was unaware of this.
But he's not an unrestricted free agent and, if the Chiefs want him back, he'll be back. At this point, it's not really his choice.