Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 2/25

Chargers Agree With Brandon Flowers from ESPN

The one-year deal can reach up to $5 million as $1.5 million comes in the signing bonus, plus a base salary of $1.5 million which is also guaranteed, a source told ESPN's Field Yates.

Flowers can earn $2 million more in incentives. In order to make the full $2 million, he must play at least 92.5 percent of the Chargers' defensive snaps and the team must make the AFC championship game. If he plays at least 78.5 percent of the defensive snaps, he will earn at least $1 million. For context, he played 78.11 percent of the Chiefs' defensive snaps last season while missing 3 games.

Rookie Review: CB Phillip Gaines from ESPN

Expectations: That the Chiefs, in need of corners, passed over Gaines for journeymen or developmental prospects in spring practice suggests they believe he is a project. It's far too early to count him out, particularly if the Chiefs continue to have a need. If he improves in camp, the opportunity for playing time will probably be there. At this point, though, it appears his main contribution will come on special teams.

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Dee Ford Visits Operation Breakthrough

Former Cal Poly Receiver Participates In Chiefs Minicamp from KSBY

After three days of catching passes from Alex Smith and playing next to National Football League star Jamal Charles, former Cal Poly slotback Cole Stanford returned home Monday from the Kansas City Chiefs' minicamp and will now wait to see if the team invites him to training camp in July.

From June 16 to 19, Stanford was in Kansas City, Mo., going through drills and working with the Chiefs' coaches.

"It's just a waiting game now, but I got some really good feedback from the coaching staff," Stanford told KSBY Sports. "And it seemed as if they really liked me. They liked the way I moved, my speed coming off the ball, my route running abilities and how I competed for every ball in the air."

USF's Taggart Says Team Is 'On Our Way' from The Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Ex-Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley tried a similar ploy in 2011, installing white cornhole boards after his team lost its first two games by a combined 89-10. It worked for awhile, but the Chiefs (7-9) finished last in the AFC West.

2014 Sleepers, Bust And Breakouts from ESPN

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs: Kelce is a very deep sleeper. He fell a bit on draft day due to off-the-field concerns, not for lack of ability. He is currently sitting out OTAs as he continues to recover from microfracture knee surgery, which cost him his entire rookie season. So there is plenty of risk here that Kelce does very little in the short term. However, his upside is tremendous. He has size, speed, production at the college level, body control, hands and big-play ability, as well as the ability to block inline, which will help get him on the field. Maybe even more attractive than Kelce's abilities is his situation in Kansas City. Dwayne Bowe has been less-than-impressive lately and the Chiefs are short on adequate targets for Alex Smith. This seems extreme, but don't be surprised if Kelce leads Chiefs pass-catchers in receptions and touchdowns. --Matt Williamson

Peyton Manning, Michael Sam, Mikaela Shiffrin, And Others Are Up For ESPY Awards from Entertainment Weekly

Additionally, game five of the recent New York Rangers-Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Finals is up for best game of the year, as well as Alabama vs. Auburn in the Iron Bowl and the Kansas City Chiefs-Indianapolis Colts matchup in the AFC Wild Card Playoff.

Seven Things To Watch Before Training Camp from NFL.com

Smith's hanging contract situation is one of the reasons that the Chiefs cut Brandon Flowers last week. (Flowers signed with San Diego on Tuesday.) The Chiefs need extra salary-cap space to extend veterans like Smith who they value more. Smith and Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton are in similar situations as mid-tier starting quarterbacks. They must balance their desire to max out their contracts with the uncertainty of playing out their contract year without a new deal.

The agents for both players should be motivated to get a max deal done.

Power Rankings: Rating The Likability Of Every NFL Franchise from FOX Sports

5. Kansas City Chiefs - There's a classic Midwestern charm to the Chiefs, as their diehard fans have avoided the corporate pitfalls that plague so many teams. It's good people in search of another title, something 40 years in the making.

'Redskins' Is Bad Business from The New York Times

We found that the Redskins have indeed experienced decreasing brand equity over the past decade. Interestingly, the two N.F.L. teams with the most negative brand equity trends from 2002 to 2012 were the Redskins and the Kansas City Chiefs (another American Indian team name).

The other teams with the most negative trends were the Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns, all of which had average winning percentages over this period that were well below 40 percent. Though the Redskins and Chiefs also had below-average winning percentages, they lost even more brand equity than did those teams that experienced such pronounced on-field failure over the past decade.