Kansas City Chiefs will have a window to tag Justin Houston

In the two years we've known Kansas City Chiefs GM John Dorsey it's become clear that he, like many other front office folks, needs deadlines to spur real action. That's why I'm not all that surprised to read something like this in the middle of January:

#Chiefs, LB Justin Houston’s camp have had "zero talks" on contract since end of ‘14 season, according to a source: http://t.co/fVDBs1eveC

— Herbie Teope (@HerbieTeope) January 16, 2015

Read the entire piece as Herbie does a nice job analyzing the entire situation with Houston, who just finished up the final year of his contract. Chiefs GM John Dorsey has pretty much confirmed there's no chance Houston is getting to free agency so you can remove a lot of worrying from your offseason and understand that Houston is going nowhere. He will be a Chief next year.

It's not like the two sides don't know where the other stands. Dorsey knows he has the franchise tag in his back pocket so he doesn't have to do anything right now. He can tag Houston in a few weeks and pick up talks again next year. Negotiations of this size take time. Don't expect either side to drastically change their position and get a deal done anytime soon, especially if they can't even agree which position he plays.

Here's a rough timeline of what to expect this offseason:

• The first date the Chiefs can franchise tag Houston is February 16.
• The last date the Chiefs can franchise tag Houston is March 2. Houston doesn't have to sign it but placing it on him would secure his rights for the Chiefs.
• If the Chiefs franchise tag Houston, they will have until July 15 to work out a long-term contract with him. If they do not do so by that date, Houston will be forced to play out the 2015 season under the one-year franchise tender and we'll start all over again next year.