Arrowheadlines: It could be smart for Patrick Mahomes to only sign a three-year extension

The latest

Agent’s Take: Will Patrick Mahomes get the NFL’s first $200 million contract? | CBS Sports

My preference would be to sacrifice the potential of the $200 million contract for a three-year extension. Mahomes would be better positioned to a take advantage of the anticipated financial growth in the salary cap because of the addition of a 17th regular season game and new media rights deals with a shorter term. Most of the current TV deals expire after the 2022 season and the 17th game most likely will be implemented at some point before the 2023 season.

PFF50: The NFL’s 50 best players entering the 2020 season | PFF

2. QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

If there’s a player who has a hope of rivaling Donald as the best in the league regardless of position, it’s likely Mahomes. What we’re seeing from the young quarterback has never been done before — not necessarily statistically, but stylistically. His feel for the game and ability to make special plays as a passer is absurd. Since Mahomes entered the league, his PFF passing grade on third-and-long alone is 91.4, and his passer rating is 125.3 — comfortably the best in the league. Nobody can do what Mahomes can right now, and 2020 should bring about an even better version than last year if he stays healthy.

Teams at an advantage and disadvantage given the 2020 circumstances | SI

And on the altered offseason, I think we have to learn from 2011. I don’t think it was a mistake that coming out of the lockout, the two Super Bowl teams had entrenched coaches and quarterbacks (the Giants and Patriots), and it certainly stands to reason that teams with stability on both counts would have an edge. The Chiefs, Eagles, Texans, Vikings, Saints, Falcons, Seahawks, Rams and 49ers are among those who can say they check both boxes.

Denver Broncos: AFC West rookies who will be problematic | Predominantly Orange

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs

The Broncos allowed 94.19 rushing yards per game in 2019 but had a huge outlier against the Jacksonville Jaguars when Leonard Fournette went off for 225 yards on the ground. In that game, the Broncos allowed 267 total rushing yards.

The addition of Jurrell Casey via a trade with the Tennessee Titans could potentially help the team’s cause when it comes to stopping the run; however, Casey is more of a bullrush defensive tackle who specializes at getting to the quarterback.

I really am concerned about the Chiefs’ addition of Edwards-Helaire not only for his rushing skills but for his receiving potential. In week 7 while playing for LSU, Edwards-Helaire caught seven passes. A week later, he caught nine.

2020 Fantasy football draft prep: Tips, rookies, top 150 rankings from dialed-in experts | CBS Sports

Biggest 2020 Fantasy football offseason moves

The guide includes Gibbs’ look at several of SportsLine’s top 2020 Fantasy football rookie running backs to know about:

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs: “The Kansas City Chiefs were the ideal landing spot for Edwards-Helaire. He will likely open the season working in tandem with Damien Williams, and if the oft-injured Williams has to miss time, Edward-Helaire has the ability to work as a three-down back for the best offense in the NFL.”

100 burning questions about 2020 NFL season with kickoff just months away | Fox Sports

5). Will the Chiefs repeat as champions? Kansas City is the team to beat during the 2020 season being that they’re coming off a Super Bowl win and didn’t lose much in the offseason. However, getting back to the Super Bowl doesn’t come easy. Since 2010, only the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos have made multiple appearances in the Super Bowl.

Court rules Kansas City Chiefs don’t owe $1M in back taxes | Salina Post

The Missouri Supreme Court has found that the Kansas City Chiefs don’t owe $1 million in back taxes on the decade-old Arrowhead Stadium renovation after all.

The court found Tuesday that the state’s Administrative Hearing Commission erred last year when it ruled that the team should have paid sales taxes on a number of items bought during the $375 million upgrade.

Taxpayers paid $275 million of the total for things like expanded concourses and replacing basic stadium infrastructure. The Chiefs kicked in the rest.

The case stems from a 2014 audit in which the Missouri Department of Revenue challenged sales tax exemptions on $23 million in purchases.

Around the NFL

Broncos coach Vic Fangio apologizes after comments that he doesn’t ‘see racism at all in NFL’ | ESPN

Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio said Wednesday that his remarks about racism and discrimination in the NFL were “wrong” and he apologized, saying in a statement, “I should have been more clear and I am sorry.”

Fangio, now in his second season with the Broncos, issued a statement early Wednesday afternoon:

“After reflecting on my comments yesterday and listening to the players this morning I realize what I said regarding racism and discrimination in the NFL was wrong. While I have never personally experienced those terrible things first-hand during my 33 years in the NFL, I understand many players, coaches and staff have different perspectives.

“I should have been more clear and I am sorry.

Drew Brees facing intense criticism for comments on flag disrespect | NFL.com

“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said. “Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. I envision my two grandfathers, who fought for this country during World War II, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corp. Both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about. And in many cases, that brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed. Not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the ‘60s, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it is not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better and that we are all part of the solution.”

Cam Jordan on Drew Brees’ remarks: Can’t tippy-toe on issue | NFL.com

“I feel like I gave him my perspective — it was almost like I was trying to force him to walk a mile in my shoes — and I hope it gets through,” Jordan told NFL.com Wednesday night. “I hope it gets through to my guy Drew, because that’s what he is ... he’s been my guy since I entered the league (in 2011).

“He’s been the leader and a guy I can rely on — on the field. Well, off the field has to align. I can’t allow people to tippy-toe on the line of this issue. You can’t play both sides on this one. We’re fighting to end social injustice, and you’re either with us or you aren’t.”

Top 10 QBs under pressure: Ryan Tannehill, Derek Carr shine | NFL.com

3 Derek Carr

Las Vegas Raiders · QB

UNDER PRESSURE: 103.7 passer rating, +5.9% completion rate above expectation, 66.7% completion rate.

Now here we can be surprised. We just spent four months listening to folks openly wonder whether Carr’s days as a Raider were numbered, as if the team’s struggles were his fault and not a product of a thin receiving corps hamstrung by the absence of Antonio Brown (and the volatile nature of his brief time with the team), as well as a somewhat porous defense. A “heck of a player” in the eyes of Raiders coach Jon Gruden, Carr demonstrated skill under pressure in 2019, posting the third-best passer rating in such situations in 2019. Carr’s completion percentage of 66.7 under pressure was the best of any qualifying quarterback in the entire NFL in 2019, and his completion percentage above expectation of +5.9 further emphasizes how effective he was under duress. A big reason for his achievement under pressure: Carr targeted open receivers often, doing so at a rate of 56.9 percent. No other quarterback on this list was even close. Logically, it seems simple and might serve as an indication that Gruden’s offense is capable of providing Carr a safety valve. Whatever the broader implications are, Carr did keep things moving, nonetheless. That’s ultimately what a quarterback needs to do to be successful, right? Carr did so when things were toughest in 2019.

In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride

Five Chiefs going into their contract year in 2020

Dan Sorensen

A contract year probably won’t change much in terms of motivation for six-year safety Dan Sorensen. He has been a popular candidate to be cut this offseason and last — but the former undrafted 30-year-old continues to prove his worth.

Not only does he excel in his role as a versatile, third safety that plays in the box and in coverage, he’s also one of the most important pieces on the Chiefs’ special teams unit. He was third on the team in special teams snaps and earned a 84.6 PFF special teams grade in 2019 — the highest of his career.

His age and lack of starting experience will probably turn teams away from offering him multi-year deals next offseason. If Sorensen is once again reliable and makes a few crucial plays in a championship run — like the tackle on the fake punt against the Houston Texans — it’s very possible that he ends back up in Kansas City on a reasonable deal.

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