If the Kansas City Chiefs are going to do anything totally crazy like swapping out Alex Smith with Nick Foles, they’ll do it by March 9, the start of the new league year. That’s the deadline for the Chiefs to pick up the option on Foles to keep him under contract through 2017.
CBS Sports’ Joel Corry breaks down key dates in the NFL this year and highlights March 9 for Foles’ option. We don’t expect the Chiefs to actually pick it up. If the Chiefs were going to go with Foles in 2017, they would have played him last year.
If / when the Chiefs decline the option, it will create more than $10 million in cap space. Good info here from Corry:
$3 million of Foles' base salary is fully guaranteed if the option is picked up and he remains on the Chiefs' roster when the league year reaches its third day (March 11). $10.75 million of salary cap room will be created by passing on Foles' option year.
The Chiefs are also carrying over about $5 million in cap space from last year, according to the NFLPA. That’s $15 million in cap space right there and we haven’t even mentioned Jamaal Charles. The Chiefs will still need more for free agents.