Crow's Happy Holidays Offseason Plan Update

[kccrow]

Re-Signings:

Rodney Hudson, OC
Sign to a 6 year, $37.5 million dollar contract with $10.5 million guaranteed. Average is $6.25 million per, the same as Jason Kelce received from Philadelphia.
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $3,000,000 $1,750,000 $4,750,000
2016 $4,000,000 $1,750,000 $5,750,000
2017 $4,000,000 $1,750,000 $5,750,000
2018 $5,000,000 $1,750,000 $6,750,000
2019 $5,000,000 $1,750,000 $6,750,000
2020 $6,000,000 $1,750,000 $7,750,000

Justin Houston, OLB
Sign to a 6 year, $85 million dollar contract with $27 million guaranteed. Average is $14.17 million per, between JJ Watt (16.7) and Clay Matthews (13.2).
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $7,000,000 $4,500,000 $11,500,000
2016 $8,000,000 $4,500,000 $12,500,000
2017 $8,000,000 $4,500,000 $12,500,000
2018 $11,000,000 $4,500,000 $15,500,000
2019 $11,000,000 $4,500,000 $15,500,000
2020 $13,000,000 $4,500,000 $17,500,000


Ron Parker, DB
Sign to a 3 year, $6.75 million dollar contract with $3.25 million guaranteed (1st year base salary of $1 million + $2.25 million signing bonus). Average is 2.25 million per, in line with about 40th highest salary amongst CBs and 28th highest salary amongst Safeties.
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $1,000,000 $750,000 $1,750,000
2016 $1,500,000 $750,000 $2,250,000
2017 $2,000,000 $750,000 $2,750,000

Kevin Vickerson, DL
Sign to a 1 year, $970,000 contract with $65,000 guaranteed. Two-year veteran cap rule means $570,000+$65,000 = $635,000 cap hit.

James-Michael Johnson, ILB
Sign to a 1 year, $660,000 contract with $65,000 guaranteed. Two-year veteran cap rule means $635,000 cap hit.

Josh Mauga, ILB
Sign to a 1 year, $745,000 contract with $65,000 guaranteed. Two-year veteran cap rule means $635,000 cap hit.

Josh Martin, OLB
Tender ERFA at $510,000 for experience.

Thomas Gafford, LS
Sign to a 1 year, $970,000 contract with $65,000 guaranteed. Two-year veteran cap rule means $635,000 cap hit.

Jason Avant, WR
Sign to a 1 year, $970,000 contract with $65,000 guaranteed. Two-year veteran cap rule means $635,000 cap hit.

Demetrius Harris, TE
Tender ERFA at $510,000 for experience.

Junior Hemmingway, WR
Tender RFA at $585,000 for experience

Kelcie McCray, DB
Tender RFA at $660,000 for experience

Kurt Coleman, SS
Sign to a 1 year, $745,000 contract with $65,000 guaranteed. Two-year veteran cap rule means $635,000 cap hit.

Total Re-Signings: $24,075,000

Free Agents:

David Harris, ILB (New York Jets)
Sign to a 4 year, 23 million dollar contract with 11 million guaranteed. Average is 5.75 million per, in line with the contract D'Qwell Jackson signed with the Colts at age 30 this year.
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $1,750,000 $2,750,000 $4,500,000
2016 $3,250,000 $2,750,000 $6,000,000
2017 $3,250,000 $2,750,000 $6,000,000
2018 $3,750,000 $2,750,000 $6,500,000


James Carpenter, LG (Seattle Seahawks)
Sign to a 5 year, 34 million dollar contract with 11.5 million guaranteed (1st year base of $2.25 million plus $9.25 million signing bonus) Average is $6.8 million on par with Josh Sitton contract.
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 2,250,000 $1,850,000 $4,100,000
2016 4,350,000 $1,850,000 $6,200,000
2017 5,450,000 $1,850,000 $7,300,000
2018 6,150,000 $1,850,000 $8,000,000
2019 6,550,000 $1,850,000 $8,400,000

Casey Matthews, ILB (Philadelphia Eagles)
Sign to a 4 year, 8.5 million dollar contract with $2.75 million guaranteed (1st year base of $750,000 plus $2 million signing bonus) Average is $2.125 million per
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $750,000 $500,000 $1,250,000
2016 $1,250,000 $500,000 $1,750,000
2017 $2,000,000 $500,000 $2,500,000
2018 $2,500,000 $500,000 $3,000,000

Cecil Shorts, WR (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Sign to a 3 year, 10 million dollar contract with 4.75 million guaranteed (1st year base of $1 million plus $3.75 million signing bonus) Average is $3.33 million per
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $1,000,000 $1,250,000 $2,250,000
2016 $2,500,000 $1,250,000 $3,750,000
2017 $2,750,000 $1,250,000 $4,000,000

Kenrick Ellis, NT (New York Jets)
Sign to a 3 year, 4.5 million dollar contract with 2.4 million guaranteed (1st year base of $750,000 plus $1.65 million signing bonus) Average is $1.5 million per.
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $750,000 $550,000 $1,300,000
2016 $950,000 $550,000 $1,500,000
2017 $1,150,000 $550,000 $1,700,000

Joe Barksdale, RT (St. Louis Rams)
Sign to a 5 year, 30 million dollar contract with 10.5 million guaranteed (1st year base of $3 million plus $7.5 million signing bonus) Average is $6.0 million per on par with Anthony Collins contract.
Contract structure:
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $3,000,000 $1,500,000 $4,500,000
2016 $3,500,000 $1,500,000 $5,000,000
2017 $6,000,000 $1,500,000 $7,500,000
2018 $5,000,000 $1,500,000 $6,500,000
2019 $5,000,000 $1,500,000 $6,500,000


Total Free Agent Signings: $17,900,000

Restructure:

Dwayne Bowe, WR
Re-negotiate Bowe's contract to be a 5 year, 31 million dollar contract with 10 million signing bonus. Average is $6.2 million per, or about 18th in the NFL.
This makes his remaining cap structure to be a 5 year, 40 million dollar contract with 19 million dollars (9 over 1st 3 years) with an average of $8 million per.
Contract strucute (on books):
Year Base Bonus Cap Hit
2015 $2,250,000 $5,000,000 $7,250,000
2016 $2,750,000 $5,000,000 $7,750,000
2017 $3,250,000 $5,000,000 $8,250,000
2018 $6,250,000 $2,000,000 $8,250,000
2019 $6,500,000 $2,000,000 $8,500,000
This will change Bowe's current $30.25 million in salary and $750,000 in workout bonuses due over the next 3 years due over the next 5 years and gives Bowe $10 million up front. This will reduce the Chiefs overall cap hit in 2015 by 6.75 million, in 2016 by 5.25 million, and in 2017 by 4.75 million at which point Bowe becomes a guy you can cut again.

Total Savings: $6,750,000

Let Walk:
Chris Owens, CB
Nick Williams, DT
Mike McGlynn, OG
Ryan Harris, OT
Phillip Supernaw, TE
Frankie Hammond Jr., WR

Cuts (Savings):
Mike DeVito, DE (4,000,000)
Cyrus Gray, RB (668,500)
Sanders Commings, S (464,622)
A.J. Jenkins, WR (1,337,390)
Derrick Johnson, ILB (5,250,000)
Eric Berry, FS (5,455,000)
Donnie Avery, WR (3,550,000)
Chase Daniel, QB (3,800,000)
Joe Mays, ILB (3,000,000)
Tamba Hali, OLB (9,000,000)
Jeff Allen, OT (1,023,249)
Anthony Fasano, TE (1,975,000)
Total Savings: $39,523,761

Cap Synopsis:
Cap Into Offseason $136,178,172
Re-Signings $24,075,000
Cap Savings (Cuts & Re-Structures) $(46,273,761)
Free Agent Signings $17,900,000
Rookie Signings $6,554,537
Top 51 Savings (Contracts Over 51) $(2,520,000)
Cap Hits After Moves $135,913,948
2015 Salary Cap $140,000,000
Salary Cap Space $4,086,052


NFL Draft

Round 1 | WR Justin Hardy, 6'0" 188 - East Carolina
Round 2 | CB Quinten Rollins, 6'0" 200 - Miami (Ohio)
Round 3 | QB Garrett Grayson, 6'2" 220 - Colorado State
Round 3 | RG Laken Tomlinson, 6'3" 320 - Duke
Round 4 | OT Sean Hickey, 6'5" 300 - Syracuse
Round 5 | SS Erick Dargan, 5'11" 212 - Oregon
Round 5 | DE Henry Anderson, 6'5 295 - Stanford
Round 5 | ILB Mike Hull, 6'0" 232 - Penn State
Round 6 | TE Nick Boyle, 6'5" 270 - Delaware
Round 7 | RB Malcolm Agnew, 5'9" 207 - Southern Illinois
Round 7 | DE Brock Hekking, 6'4" 255 - Nevada

Preseason Cuts

Tyler Bray, QB
Donald Stephenson, OL
Kelcie McCray, S
Mike Catapano, DE
James-Michael Johnson, ILB
Junior Hemmingway, WR

Roster Breakdown:
QB Alex Smith
QB Aaron Murray
QB Garrett Grayson

RB Jamaal Charles
RB Knile Davis
RB De’Anthony Thomas
RB Malcolm Agnew

FB Anthony Sherman

WR Dwayne Bowe
WR Cecil Shorts
WR Justin Hardy
WR Albert Wilson
WR Jason Avant

TE Travis Kelce
TE Demetrius Harris
TE Nick Boyle

LT Eric Fisher
RT Joe Barksdale
OT Sean Hickey

LG James Carpenter
RG Laken Tomlinson
OL Zach Fulton
OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

OC Rodney Hudson
OL Eric Kush

DE Allen Bailey
DE Jaye Howard
DE Kevin Vickerson
DL Vance Walker
DE Henry Anderson

NT Dontari Poe
NT Kenrick Ellis

OLB Justin Houston
OLB Dee Ford
OLB Josh Martin
OLB Frank Zombo
OLB Brock Hekking

ILB David Harris
ILB Casey Matthews
ILB Josh Mauga
ILB Mike Hull

CB Sean Smith
CB Phillip Gaines
CB Quentin Rollins
CB Marcus Cooper
CB Jamell Fleming

S Husain Abdullah
S Kurt Coleman
S Ron Parker
S Erick Dargan

K Cairo Santos
P Dustin Colquitt
LS Thomas Gafford

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Shox

Glad you are not running Chiefs. You build a team through the draft not FA signings. FA are to provide depth on a cheap $ or to go get one or two studs to put you over the top.

No way do you give any another dime to Hemmingway or Avant.

You are not going to have one single new starting DB/S next year? Really? You are just going to move up players in the depth chart? Owens and anybody below him on the depth chart should be gone.

I like the Casey Matthews addition.
Do not let DeVito!!!!!. Dude is a stud against the run.
Tamba must take a pay cut.

We'll disagree on the 1st part. It isn't the money value of the free agents, its the quality and youth that go with them. I've hit heavy on positions that offer less bust factor for my big signings: two offensive lineman and a linebacker that has played in the exact system for this DC. All of the signings are young except for Harris. Signing over-the-hill players to big free agent contracts is stupid. Signing prime players to big contracts in the right spots can be smart.

Now, it is highly unlikely both Barksdale and Carpenter hit free agency, but until I know they won't I've put them in there. If you think signing a couple studs won't put this team over the top, then I disagree. This team lacked a couple of stud offensive lineman that could have made a huge difference in whether or not this team made the playoffs and contended for a ring.

In this scenario, I add two of the better players at their respective positions on the offensive line. When Kansas City added Casey Wiegmann from Chicago in 2001 and Willie Roaf from New Orleans in 2002, it made an enormous impact on the Chiefs fortunes for the next several years. Harris, the other "big signing" is essentially a swap for Derrick Johnson. Harris knows this defense and is the perfect player to bring in to replace Johnson. They are the same age, and really, Harris is an upgrade to me.

The other signings are young, depth/starter types that should come at the "cheaper" price tag that KC loves. Shorts is a solid receiver in a bad situation. I'd have to think he looks at greener pastures, and he is a perfect fit in this WCO hybrid that Reid runs. Casey Matthews is a young, up-and-comer at inside linebacker, and in reserve starting duty this season has flashed some solid ability to be a starter outside of Philly. One would think he'll explore the market before considering to re-sign with the Eagles. Another Jets signing, Ellis, is perfect for KC in that he is very similar to Poe and should be relatively cheap. I foresee a mass exodus from New York, especially on defense, when Rex Ryan gets the axe. The first places these players will likely look hard is at teams that run the same type of scheme, and they've ran it under Sutton already.


Onto part 2. It is cheap to make 1 year offers to Hemmingway and Avant, at least through camp. Hemmingway's special teams ability and Avant's knowledge of the offense will likely at least get them camp signings. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Avant finish his career in KC. Reid trusts him and he isn't a bad #4 type.

No new starting DBs? Doubtful. I expect Smith and Gaines to start at CB. I expect Parker to be retained and start at FS. I expect Abdullah to start at SS. That was a very solid starting lineup this season. Now, I do expect some moves to be made in the secondary at least in depth. I draft Quinten Rollins as the nickleback and eventual replacement to Smith in round 2. I draft Dragan as a reserve safety in round 5. I think Fleming and Coleman have shown they deserve to be here next season. The only other change I might consider is cutting Cooper and adding another CB, but he'll still be here in the offseason to compete for a spot.

DeVito is a stud against the run, but he's coming off an Achilles, saves KC 4 million against the cap, and others have shown the ability to be solid up front. My issue wasn't the defensive line against the run, it was the ILBs. However, in letting him walk, I also draft a good run defending college end in Anderson of Stanford. We need to see wholesale changes on the inside at linebacker. In my scenario I added 3 linebackers on the inside in Harris, Matthews, and Hull (draft). I think Mauga should be back. James-Michael Johnson will probably be here for camp at least, but he should go to a 4-3 team in need of a WOLB in my opinion.

I'm uncertain about extending Hali. On one hand, he's valuable here. He can still play. On the other, you hate to extend a guy much longer when he's clearly lost some of the limited step he had. He's still a huge effort guy, but he is beginning to struggle closing on the QB. I'm not a Dee Ford fan, but right now its almost as though we have to hope he can bring most of what Hali brings to the table in 2015. I worry most about what Hali does to seal the edge against the run when watching Ford play.

[the Talking Can]

Great post

[ChiefAshhole20]

Solid.

[KCrockaholic]

Didn't care for the direction and some decisions. But I respect the thoughts.

[Hoover]

kccrow this is some of the best stuff I have ever seen on this site. Hard to disagree with your thought process and I do think if we are going to be players in FA it makes a lot of sense to focus on the guard and ILB positions.

[philfree]

Hardy @ #17? That seems like a huge reach from my limited research.

[kccrow]

You guys gave me an idea for a post. I'm going to do a re-work of this coming up and I'm going to use your votes for who the Chiefs will retain as their own free agents and potential cuts. Working that up now.

[philfree]

Originally Posted by philfree

Hardy @ #17? That seems like a huge reach from my limited research.

You did all this work to pick Hardy @ #17? Seriously?

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by philfree

You did all this work to pick Hardy @ #17? Seriously?

Our opinions on Hardy differ apparently. In my latest work I actually put him in round 2 and took Flowers at OT in round 1. Until I see where he ends up around combine time, I'll probably keep it that way.