Chiefs’ Chris Jones To Skip Minicamp
Defensive tackle Chris Jones did not report to the Chiefs on Tuesday and is not expected to partake in minicamp, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The two sides were discussing a new contract, but those talks have stalled. 
By skipping camp, Jones will be subject to roughly $90K in fines. He’ll also, potentially, send a message to the team that he is serious about getting a long-term deal that is in line with the market.
The former second-rounder is entering the final year of his contract. Jones is set to earn a $1.2MM base salary with a paltry $1.3MM cap hit.
Following his 2018 season, the 24-year-old (25 in July) should end up seeing a sizable pay raise. Jones had a breakout campaign last year, finishing with a career-high 40 tackles and 15.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him fifth among 112 interior defenders, with his pass-rushing score ranking second at the position.
With Dee Ford out of the picture, the Chiefs need Jones more than ever.
Latest On Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill
Investigators have determined that the broken arm suffered by the three-year-old son of Chiefs star wideout Tyreek Hill was an accident and was not the result of abuse at the hands of Hill or the child’s mother, Crystal Espinal, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (citing Kevin Kietzman of 810WHB.com) writes. Despite that, and despite the fact that there is no active criminal investigation of the matter, Hill is not out of the woods.
While most assumed the crime that Johnson County DA Steve Howe was referring to when he said he believed a crime had been committed against the child pertained to the broken arm, that was not the case. Instead, as Kietzman reports, the crime pertained to the welts and bruises that Overland Park police found on the child’s body. Investigators determined early on in the process that the broken arm was an accident, but the welts and bruises are evidence of criminal abuse. The problem is that, although both Hill and Espinal have admitted to spanking their son with their hands and a belt, prosecutors cannot determine which parent, or if both, caused the welts and bruises.
This report will not change the NFL’s stance on the situation, as the league was already waiting for the Child Protective Services proceeding that resulted in Hill’s son being removed from Hill’s custody to conclude. But although Florio suggested yesterday that the NFL may be trying to brush this matter under the rug, he is singing a bit of a different tune today. Indeed, the portion of Kietzman’s report revealing that Hill admitted to spanking his son with his hands and a belt could make Hill more susceptible to league discipline, and he can also be disciplined for making threats against Espinal and creating an unsafe environment for his child.
Florio’s earlier opinion notwithstanding, it would be very surprising if the league did not take any disciplinary action against Hill, even if he is not charged with a crime. However, it may be awhile before we know for sure. For the time being, Hill is banned from the Chiefs’ facility.
Florio: League Should Investigate Hill
We got a major development in the Tyreek Hill case yesterday, when it was reported there was no “active investigation” into the Chiefs receiver by law enforcement. It appears that the leaked audio of Hill threatening his fiance wasn’t enough to reopen the case. With the prospect of criminal prosecution looking increasingly unlikely, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com argues that the league needs to take over the investigation. Florio writes that “signs are emerging that the NFL” plans to “not-so-subtly brush this one under the rug.”
Florio writes that whether Hill is prosecuted or not shouldn’t matter in terms of a potential suspension, saying that the “NFL has created a clear precedent that cries out for action, given aggressively zealous investigations and suspensions of players like Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.” It’s a fair point, as Elliott was suspended for six games despite prosecutors declining to press charges. Florio doesn’t sound too optimistic about the league pursuing this further, noting the “league at a minimum is floating a trial balloon regarding the possibility that no action of any kind will be taken.” It’ll be very interesting to see what steps Roger Goodell takes next, and how it effects the Chiefs.
Fallout From Texans’ Brian Gaine Firing
While Brian Gaine had little chance to showcase his roster-building vision through the draft, the since-fired Texans GM was in charge of significant extension talks. A lack of development on the Jadeveon Clowney front may have factored into his firing. The 17-month GM made “zero” progress on a Clowney extension, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com tweets. Gaine also called the Chiefs about a Clowney deal before the draft, per Robinson, and continued calling teams after Clark was traded to Kansas City. Clowney has been extension-eligible since the start of 2017. After word of prospective 2018 talks emerged, not much transpired on that front last year. The 2014 No. 1 overall pick is attached to a $17.1MM franchise tag. Houston’s next GM will have to deal with this situation, along with likely another J.J. Watt contract. The five-time All-Pro’s $16.7MM-AAV deal now looks remarkably team-friendly, given where the market has ventured.
Here is the latest out of Houston:
- While this firing stunned the NFL-following world, it surprised many key Texans staffers as well. Some personnel people did not know this was on tap until moments before the organization released its statement, Robinson tweets. The Texans wrapped up their OTAs this week but still have their minicamp next week. That will almost certainly be conducted without a general manager. Of the GMs hired in advance of the 2018 season, Gaine was the only one whose team made the playoffs. Both Brian Gutekunst and Dave Gettleman oversaw sub-.500 seasons.
- Despite joining the Texans this offseason, Jack Easterby looks set to have influence on who the team’s next GM will be. The recently appointed executive vice president of team development (a position the Texans recently created) has become a key figure in Houston’s front office, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Hired after a six-year run as the Patriots’ character coach, Easterby has become a close confidant of Bill O’Brien‘s, per Breer. This seems pivotal considering O’Brien will now be coaching alongside a third GM. Easterby is also close friends with Patriots VP of player personnel Nick Caserio, per the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain. Caserio is back on the Texans’ radar.
- Another potential name to watch: Scott Pioli. The longtime Falcons exec and former Chiefs GM recently stepped down from his Atlanta post, but an NFL personnel man floated him as a prospective candidate to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Pioli, of course, ascended as a Patriots front office bastion. His and O’Brien’s New England stays overlapped by two years, from 2007-08.
“No Active Investigation” Against Tyreek Hill
In April, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that the criminal case against star receiver Tyreek Hill has been reopened. However, Johnson County DA Steve Howe says that’s not the case, as Brooke Pryor of the Kansas City Star tweets. 
[RELATED: Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill Denies Abuse Allegations]
Howe previously said that he believed a crime was committed against Hill’s son, but he could not gather enough conclusive evidence to prove who did it. Later, a leaked audio conversation between Hill and his child’s mother seemed to bring some evidence to the forefront, but it’s not quite enough to build the case against the wide receiver.
“It is not an active investigation,” Howe said. “As in any case, if we receive additional evidence we reevaluate.”
While there’s no criminal case against Hill at this time, the Kansas Department for Children and Families is still looking into the matter. NFL discipline seems likely for Hill, but the league office will not act until the KDCF wraps its investigation.
8 NFL Teams Have Wrapped Up Their Draft Classes
Roughly one-quarter of the NFL’s teams have signed every player in their draft class, as shown in PFR’s tracker. The front offices of the following clubs have a little bit less on their plate as mandatory minicamps get underway:
- Cardinals
- Falcons
- Browns
- Lions
- Chiefs
- Saints
- Eagles
- Steelers
While the league’s rookie slotting system has been criticized by some, there’s no denying that it has streamlined the signing process for the incoming class. Prominent first-round picks like Joey Bosa and Marcus Mariota have squabbled with teams over offset language in recent years and the third round lacks some structure due to flexibility in base salary, but, on the whole, rookies have been quicker to put pen to paper in recent years.
We’ll likely see several more teams wrap up their draft classes before the week is through. The Bills, Bengals, Cowboys, Packers, Texans, Colts, Dolphins, Vikings, Patriots, Seahawks, Titans, and Redskins each have just one straggler remaining. Unsurprisingly, most of those unsigned players are third-rounders. The Vikings are a notable exception – seventh-round pick Austin Cutting is waiting to find out whether the Air Force will permit him to play instead of immediately fulfilling his two-year service requirement.
This Date In Transactions History: Chiefs Release Jeremy Maclin
On this date in 2017, the Chiefs shocked the football world with their release of Jeremy Maclin. Despite a down 2016, Maclin still profiled as one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL and was slated to enter the year as the Chiefs No. 1 wideout. 
At the time of his release, Maclin was still only 29 and was not far removed from his 1,000-yard+ 2015 campaign. There was some logic in the move – cutting Maclin loose saved the Chiefs $10MM in cap space with just $2.4MM left in dead money, but the veteran surely would have preferred to be released in March, when there was more available money around the NFL.
Maclin never got the opportunity to justify his hefty five-year, $55MM deal in Kansas City, and he clearly wasn’t the same player when he moved on to the Ravens in 2017. Maclin finished out with just 40 catches for 440 yards for an average of eleven yards per grab – all career lows.
With Maclin out of the picture, the Chiefs were able to put a larger focus on rising sophomore Tyreek Hill. Hill was something of a gadget player as a rookie, but he truly broke out in 2017 with a 75/1,183/7 line.
Today, Hill’s football future is in limbo, but, from a football perspective, the decision to move on from Maclin proved to be a wise one. The Chiefs have boasted one of the league’s most potent aerial attacks for the last two seasons thanks in large part to Hill and a younger group of targets. Meanwhile, Maclin spent 2018 out of football before announcing his retirement earlier this year.
Chiefs Sign Khalen Saunders
The Chiefs signed third-round defensive tackle Khalen Saunders on Monday, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). With that, the Chiefs have wrapped up their entire draft class. 
Saunders is slated to back up Chris Jones and Derrick Nnadi on the interior line in 2019. For now, he’ll practice with the first-stringers while Chris Jones stays away from the club in an effort to land a new contract.
The Western Illinois product impressed in his final year on campus with 42 tackles and 4.5 sacks from the interior. Saunders boasts impressive agility for a 324-pound lineman and could have a bright future if he’s able to improve his conditioning.
Here’s the full rundown of the Chiefs’ 2019 draft class, via PFR’s tracker:
- 2-56: Mecole Hardman, WR (Georgia): Signed
- 2-63: Juan Thornhill, S (Virginia): Signed
- 3-84: Khalen Saunders, DT (Western Illinois): Signed
- 6-201: Rashad Fenton, CB (South Carolina): Signed
- 6-214: Darwin Thompson, RB (Utah State): Signed
- 7-216: Nick Allegretti, C (Illinois): Signed
Four NFL Teams Set To Receive Cap Space
Four teams are set to receive some cap space tomorrow due to post-June 1st cuts, as ESPN’s Field Yates points out on Twitter. Those clubs include:
- Bears: $1MM (Cody Parkey, story)
- Chiefs: $9.55MM (Eric Berry, story)
- Falcons: $6.45MM (Ryan Schraeder, story)
- Panthers: $7MM (Matt Kalil, story)
Way back in the day, our own Luke Adams explained all of the nuances of the June 1st designation. In simplest terms, a team’s salary cap can account for a released-player’s bonuses based on two separate time periods.
If a player is designated for release prior to June 1st, the remaining bonus money is immediately added to the upcoming year’s cap. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com uses the 2013 release of Steve Breaston (Chiefs) as an example. The wide receiver only completed two years of his five-year contract, meaning he was only paid $2MM of his $5MM bonus. Therefore, since he was designated for release prior to June 1st, the remaining $3MM in bonus money was added to the Chiefs’ 2013 salary cap.
However, if the player is designated for release after June 1st, then the player’s current-year bonus remains the same for that respective year (in regards to the salary cap) . The rest of that bonus money would then be added to the following year’s cap. So, using Breaston as an example, if the Chiefs had designated him for release after June 1st, then the team would have seen his $1MM bonus money added to their salary cap in 2013. Then, in 2014, the remaining $2MM would be accounted for.
So why were teams announcing these releases prior to today? Well, the NFL allows each team to designate two players as a post-June 1st cut. This provides the player with more time to find their next gig. This was seemingly a concession by the teams, as they benefit via the salary-cap relief.
For the Bears, Chiefs, Falcons, and Panthers, this added cap space will be especially useful as they look to sign their draft picks or extend their current players. These teams could also be looking to clear some space for a free agent acquisition, as the Panthers are presumably doing for Gerald McCoy.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/31/19
Today’s minor moves will be posted here:
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Nick Keizer