The Kansas City Chiefs have done diddly squat in the 2017 NFL free agency period besides re-signing their own guys. And when all you do is re-sign your own guys - even if they’re really good! - you’re going to get bad grades from the media types who grade free agent signings.
I know, it doesn’t matter. Let’s take a look anyway. Here’s what Pete Prisco of CBS Sports said:
The Skinny: The Chiefs’ biggest move of the period came when they gave safety Eric Berry a long-term extension, which was the right move. He is a playmaker in their secondary. They also gave guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and safety/linebacker Daniel Sorensen contract extensions. Other than that they didn’t do much, since they were up against the cap, which is why they will lose Dontari Poe.
Grade: C. Keeping Berry was the No. 1 priority. That keeps this grade a C.
Let’s look at some of these moves:
Eric Berry’s $78 million deal: No brainer to pay a guy like that.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif’s $41 million extension: It looked like a lot of money and it definitely is. The Chiefs are paying for what they think he can do, not what he’s done. The guard market went to $12 million per year in free agency so Dorsey got this one right ... assuming LDT continues to improve.
Daniel Sorensen’s four-year extension: $4 million per year for a guy like Sorensen is a good deal. He’ll play plenty and they’ll ask him to do a lot. He showed a knack for big plays at times last year.
Not paying Dontari Poe (yet): I would take Poe back, yes. But at the $10+ million per year deal that some have floated? Probably not.
They won’t get an A from free agency grades but all of these moves so far are defensible.