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The Franchise Tag Deadline is 3 p.m. Tuesday from The Mothership
The exclusive franchise tag is a one-year tender offer to a player for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position, or 120 percent of the player's previous salary, whichever is greater. The player's team has all negotiating rights to the player.
The non-exclusive franchise tag is a one-year tender offer to a player for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position, or 120 percent of the player's previous salary, whichever is greater
Chiefs have had preliminary discussions about extension for Dontari Poe from The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs have star nose tackle Dontari Poe under contract for 2016, which should be considered a bit of a relief, considering five other starters from one of the league's best defenses are currently slated to be free agents on March 9.
However, that doesn't mean the Chiefs will let his contract situation play out at a later date. Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said at the NFL Combine last week that he has conversations with Poe's agent, Jimmy Sexton, regarding a long-term deal that could keep Poe in Kansas City.
"We've talked, we've talked more than once," Dorsey said. "I have great affection for Dontari Poe. I think he represents everything we want to do, culturally. I think he's a good football player. We will continue this process. Right now, I'm concentrating on other things. But eventually, we'll get to that."
NFLPA announces record-setting 2016 salary cap at $155.27 million from Chiefs Digest
The NFLPA announced the league-wide carryovers late last week, with the Chiefs electing to carry over $2,622,838 of unused cap space from the 2015 league calendar year.
The Chiefs are projected to have $32.5 million in available cap space in 2016.
In addition to announcing the salary cap, the NFLPA released the official values for franchise and transition tag designations:
NFL salary cap set at a record $155.27 million, Chiefs have $32.55 million in space from The Kansas City Star
But a portion of that money can be tied up if the Chiefs, who have a number of key defensive players set to hit free agency March 9, opt to use the franchise tag by the deadline of 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Corry says that two pending Chiefs free agents - safety Eric Berry and cornerback Sean Smith - might make sense for the tag. Berry, 27, served as the emotional leader for the Chiefs in 2015, as he fast-tracked his comeback from Hodgkin lymphoma to record 61 tackles, 10 pass deflections and two interceptions and earned his fourth Pro Bowl nod.
Corry said the Chiefs should consider using the non-exclusive franchise tag on Berry, which will cost $10.8 million. That will allow the team to match any offer Berry receives on the open market, and give the Chiefs two first-round picks as compensation if they don't match an offer. It's been years since a team surrendered that type of bounty for a free agent, so the tag would essentially tie Berry to the Chiefs for another year and give them more time to work out a long-term contract.
It's time for Chiefs to make decision on their franchise tag from ESPN
The Kansas City Chiefs have until 3 p.m. Central time to use their franchise tag or lose it for 2016.
The obvious candidate to become the franchise player is safety Eric Berry. He would cost the Chiefs about $10.8 million against their salary cap if he gets the tag. The Chiefs are determined to retain Berry, whose return from cancer in 2015 was one of the NFL's feel-good stories. If they don't protect him with the franchise tag, it seems a good sign the Chiefs believe they will reach agreement with Berry on a long-term contract by the opening of free agency on March 9.
Chiefs have talked extension with Dontari Poe from ProFootballTalk
Poe had back surgery before the start of last season, but was ready to go for the start of the year and helped the Chiefs become the third stingiest scoring defense in the league while appearing in 15 games. As Dorsey said, Poe's deal will likely wait until the Chiefs sort out things with linebacker Derrick Johnson, safety Eric Berry and other impending free agents but getting one done could open up some more money under the cap in the short term if the two sides are close in their early discussions.
Chiefs hope to re-sign Derrick Johnson from ProFootballTalk
Johnson may not be the highest priority among Kansas City's impending free agents, but he's a solid contributor that helped the Chiefs win a playoff game for the first time since 1993 and finish with one of the league's Top 10 defenses.
CBS Sports Video: Kansas City Chiefs Offseason Outlook
Jalen Ramsey's NFL combine outing ‘exactly what we expected,' father says from The Tallahassee Democrat
So far, Jalen has met with at least 20 of the 32 NFL teams including five teams in the Top 6: the Tennessee Titans, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Baltimore Ravens.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9), Oakland Raiders (14), Buffalo Bills (19) and Kansas City Chiefs (29) were also among teams that have met with Jalen. Lamont could not recall if the Cleveland Browns, who hold the No. 2 overall pick, met with his son.
Dorsey: Chiefs working to re-sign Derrick Johnson from NFL.com
Ranking No. 24 on our list, Johnson is coming off an impressive bounce-back campaign that saw him pile up four sacks and two interceptions over 16 games after missing 15 games in 2014 with a ruptured Achilles. Only Carolina's Luke Kuechly and Jerrell Freeman of the Colts graded higher at the inside linebacker position, per Pro Football Focus.
"He doesn't get the recognition most of the other guys do," said outside linebacker Tamba Hali. "But as far as this city goes? All-time great."
Borges: Team Brady wins again from The Boston Herald
In many ways, Tom Brady is the team. Without him, they've won zip. With him, they've won enough jewelry to open a Tiffany's at Patriots Place. Along the way, he's created more millionaires than Merrill Lynch. They include, but are not limited to, failed head coaches Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and Josh McDaniels, not to mention personnel man Scott Pioli, who took $25 million from the Kansas City Chiefs while also taking them into the basement before being fired after four seasons. During his time in Kansas City, he racked up 23 wins (and 41 losses) and an age-discrimination lawsuit after some Pioli-inspired firings. Coach Todd Haley claimed his phone was bugged, and a fan group called Save Our Chiefs regularly protested Pioli's failed regime. In his final season, the Chiefs were 2-14, matching the worst campaign in franchise history, but had six Pro Bowl players. Only two were drafted by Pioli.
Ex-NFL DB returns to Hudson for charity from CBS 6 Albany
The 31-year-old played baseball at Hudson Valley Community College before transferring to UAlbany where he played both baseball and football. From there, Barksdale was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2007 NFL Draft. He would spend that season playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.
After several successful years playing in the Arena Football League, the now retired former Bluehawk has settled nicely into life after being a professional athlete.
Franchise tag tracker: Who's tagged and what's next? from USA Today
Other candidates to be tagged
- S
Eric Berry , Kansas City Chiefs
- QB Kirk Cousins" culang="en">Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins
- LT Cordy Glenn" culang="en">Cordy Glenn, Buffalo Bills
- DE Malik Jackson, Denver Broncos
- CB Trumaine Johnson" culang="en">Trumaine Johnson, Los Angeles Rams
- OLB Von Miller" culang="en">Von Miller, Denver Broncos
- CB Josh Norman, Carolina Panthers
- K Justin Tucker" culang="en">Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens (Tucker's agent says he will be franchised)
- DE Olivier Vernon" culang="en">Olivier Vernon, Miami Dolphins
Shutdown Corner's NFL free-agent rankings: Defense, specialists from Yahoo! Sports
6. Jaye Howard: Howard started his career slow but became a starter in 2014 and had a nice breakthrough in 2015, with 57 tackles and 5.5 sacks for the Kansas City Chiefs. At 27, some team will be catching a player on the rise.
The top free agent defensive linemen of 2016 from SB Nation
Jaye Howard, DT, Kansas City Chiefs
Howard has been one of the most effective players on the Chiefs' defense over the years, but as an interior lineman, he's been overlooked. Still, the 2012 fourth-round pick was excellent last season, putting up career highs in every major category. He recorded 57 tackles, 5.5 sacks, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Losing him would be a huge blow to Kansas City's defense, and he could shore up most defensive lines in the NFL.
NFL free agency 2016: Who is available for the Colts? from The Indianapolis Star
The Chiefs have a lot of defensive pieces hitting free agency this year and you can't keep everybody. There's room for Howard's 36 tackles, 21 assists and 5 1/2 sacks on several NFL rosters.