Chiefs reach injury settlement with rookie linebacker

On Monday, the official NFL Transactions report indicated that the Kansas City Chiefs had reached an injury settlement with former North Carolina State linebacker Isaiah Moore, who was waived with an injury designation the Sunday before last.

Moore cleared waivers the following day, which allowed him to revert to Kansas City’s Reserve/Injured (injured reserve) list. This opened a window in which the team could negotiate an injury settlement with the undrafted rookie, who had apparently undergone season-ending knee surgery before being waived.

With this settlement, the Chiefs cut all ties with Moore, making him a free agent who can sign with any team once his knee has healed. The injury settlement allows the Chiefs to minimize the money they must carry against the 2023 salary cap for Moore.

As an illustration of how this works, second-year safety Nazeeh Johnson — who sustained an ACL tear a week ago Saturday — was placed on the Reserve/Injured list on the same day Moore was waived. That ended Johnson’s season. According to Spotrac, Johnson’s contract carried a value of $475,000 if he were to spend the 2023 season on IR. Once the season begins, the team must carry that discounted amount (and in Johnson’s case, $58,000 in dead money from a signing bonus) against its salary cap in order to retain his rights.

In contrast, Moore’s deal carried a value of $456,000 while he was on IR. The settlement allows Kansas City gives up its rights to Moore in exchange for carrying just $136,000 in dead money against the cap.