Could Seahawks DE Frank Clark be traded to the Chiefs?

The idea that the Chiefs may acquire Frank Clark gained new steam on Monday morning when NBC Sports’ Peter King suggested it in his one and only mock draft of the offseason.

The Chiefs would send their first-round pick (No. 29) and one of their second-round picks (No. 63) to the Seahawks in exchange for the services of Clark, who is currently franchise-tagged. Using pick No. 29, the Seahawks would go on to select Washington cornerback Byron Murphy.

KING: In the end, I struggled mightily with the Frank Clark trade from Seattle to Kansas City. I had the trade in my first draft of the mock on Friday, then took it out for 48 hours, and just put it back in Sunday night. The waffling came before I sent Clark to the Chiefs because of the Kareem Hunt and Tyreek Hill incidents. And I will not be surprised at all if the Chiefs don’t do it. But I’m taking the gamble, because the Kansas City need for edge-rush is so pronounced. Hunt was cut by the Chiefs last year after video surfaced of him kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel last offseason. The league and local authorities are now investigating whether Hill may have been involved in a child abuse case with his three-year-old son. Clark was cited in police reports in 2014 for a domestic abuse case against his then-girlfriend. It could be the Chiefs (or Colts or Jets) have done a lot of due diligence and believe such accusations are in Clark’s past. But it was tough for me to predict that and it came down to a gut feeling Sunday night.

The move would be questionable for many reasons.

First, while I understand Dee Ford wasn’t a precise fit in new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 Under scheme, what you had in him (with the franchise tag) was an elite EDGE rusher while keeping all of your 2019 draft picks. The Chiefs have so many different needs general manager Brett Veach has only ruled out selecting a quarterback for the first round, which means keeping three of the top 63 picks makes much more sense than the alternative.

Finally, as King notes by mentioning Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt, the Chiefs have to consider Clark’s off-the-field issues, which we detailed in the original post below. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer also includes this point in his latest column. Right or wrong, by trading for Clark, the Chiefs could be teetering toward a Dallas Cowboys-like punchline.

As a reminder, because Clark can block a deal by not signing his tag, the Chiefs would most likely need to sign Clark to a long-term deal to make it happen.

We will see how it all plays out.

ORIGINAL POST: Monday, April 15, 2019

Could Seahawks DE Frank Clark be traded to the Chiefs?

Are the Kansas City Chiefs in the mix to acquire Seattle Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark?

After a report a couple of days ago from The Athletic’s Jay Glazer that said trade talks for Clark had “died down,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk essentially said not so fast on Sunday night.

Standing at 6 feet 3 and 273 pounds, Clark fits the profile of the type of defensive end that Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes. He is also a former second-rounder, which plays right into the wheelhouse of Chiefs general manager Brett Veach.

The 25-year-old Clark had nine or more sacks in each of the last three seasons, but the Seahawks are dealing with a situation involving having to potentially sign quarterback Russell Wilson to a new contract and may feel comfortable with more cap space.

There are several things to consider if a trade for Clark were going to happen.

First, since Seattle has tagged Clark at the rate of $17.128 million for the 2019 season, he would have to sign the tender. Clark could easily block a trade by refusing to sign. He also may not sign unless there was a long-term deal coming at his next destination. The value of that hypothetical long-term deal increased thanks to Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence’s new contract: five-years for $105 million ($65 million guaranteed).

Second, a team would have to send the Seahawks some value back. Maybe it is as easy as the 2020 second-rounder the Chiefs received from the San Francisco 49ers for Dee Ford. Perhaps it’s more.

Finally, Clark has a connection to domestic violence in his past and was convicted in 2012 on felony home-invasion charges. Clark was kicked off the Michigan football team after his arrest in connection to domestic violence.

Pro Football Talk: For Clark, multiple things happened. He was accused of domestic violence while at Michigan, and he ultimately pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in a deal with prosecutors. However, the police who investigated the case disagreed with the conclusion by prosecutors that Clark did not strike his victim.

Clark also was convicted in 2012 on felony home-invasion charges, which caused him to ultimately miss one week of practice and a single game while playing for Brady Hoke at Ann Arbor.

I don’t know if the Chiefs and Clark Hunt would be willing to actively take on another player connected to an off-the-field issue.