Chiefs Host Cardinals RFA Xavier Williams
The Chiefs hosted Cardinals restricted free agent defensive lineman Xavier Williams over the weekend, reports Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
If the Chiefs sign Williams to an offer sheet, the Cardinals will have the opportunity to match the contract and keep Williams in Arizona. If the Cards opt not to match, however, they won’t receive any draft pick compensation in exchange for losing Williams. Arizona tendered Williams at the original-round level, but because Williams was an undrafted free agent, Kansas City wouldn’t be forced to fork over any draft capital.
Williams, 26, garnered the highest playtime of his career in 2017, although he was still a rotational lineman with a snap percentage of roughly 24%. In his 11 appearances, Williams posted 16 tackles and a half-sack while grading as the No. 42 interior defender among 122 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
The Chiefs could see some movement at the defensive tackle position heading into 2018, as Bennie Logan and Stefan Charles are both unrestricted free agent. Kansas City has re-signed veteran Jarvis Jenkins and tendered RFA Rakeem Nunez-Roches at the original-round level, but it’s not out of the question that Williams could compete to start at nose tackle if he’s signed by the Chiefs.
If Williams doesn’t ink an offer sheet, he’ll stick on the Cardinals’ roster at a one-year cost of $1.907MM.
Contract Details/Restructures: 3/17/18
Let’s take a look at the most recent new contracts and restructures around the NFL:
New Contracts
- Allen Robinson, WR (Bears): Three years, $42MM. $25.2MM guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Teddy Bridgewater, QB (Jets): One year, $6MM. $1MM guaranteed. $9MM available via playtime incentives (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).
- Chad Henne, QB (Chiefs): Two years, $6.7MM. $3.1MM signing bonus. Performance incentives and escalators available (Twitter link via Jason Wolf of the Tennessean).
Restructures
- Cardinals: Created $500K in 2018 cap space by converting S Antoine Bethea‘s roster bouns into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Pelissero).
- Vikings: Created $1.15MM in 2018 cap space by reducing RB Latavius Murray‘s base salary from $5.15MM to $3.65M; his roster bonus from $500K to $250K; and his incentives from $2.3MM to $1MM (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/18
Today’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: OL Billy Turner
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: OL Jordan Devey
Oakland Raiders
- Waived: LS Bradley Northnagel
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: DB Akeem King
Chiefs Sign QB Chad Henne
The Chiefs are signing quarterback Chad Henne to a two-year deal, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Henne, 33 in July, will serve as the No. 2 QB behind Patrick Mahomes. 
The Chiefs have been on the lookout for a backup/mentor to pair with Mahomes. They had interest in signing Chase Daniel to fill that role, but he wound up joining the Bears on a two-year deal worth $10MM with $7MM guaranteed.
Kansas City may have preferred Daniel for the job, but Henne comes with more in-game experience. Daniel has only two starts in his entire NFL career and none since 2014. Henne, meanwhile, boasts 53 career starts, though he also hasn’t made a start since ’14.
The last time Henne saw consistent playing time was 2013, when he completed 60.6% of his passes for 3,241 yards and 13 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.
Chiefs Meet With RB Thomas Rawls
Running back Thomas Rawls will meet with the Chiefs on Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rawls was non-tendered by the Seahawks this month, making him an unrestricted free agent. 
The Chiefs have Kareem Hunt, Spencer Ware, and Charcandrick West under contract (along with others), so there’s not a clear spot for Rawls in Kansas City. But, after two down years in Seattle, Rawls will probably have to fight for his roster spot anywhere he goes.
Rawls joined the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and electrified in his rookie year. He ran for 830 yards off of 147 carries, good for an eye-popping 5.6 yards per attempt. He also had four rushing touchdowns and a receiving TD in that season. Things haven’t been the same since, however. Rawls has averaged just three yards per carry over the last two seasons.
Chiefs Interested In Chad Henne, Matt Moore
The Chiefs will meet with Chad Henne on Thursday night, according to ESPN.com’s Jeff Darlington (on Twitter). The Chiefs also have interest in Dolphins free agent signal caller Matt Moore, Darlington adds. 
The Titans and Dolphins are also showing interest in Henne, who has spent the last six seasons with the Jaguars. Henne has appeared in only six games since 2014, but NFL teams believe that he profiles as a solid backup option. In KC, he’d be the No. 2 QB behind Patrick Mahomes, giving them an experienced Plan B. The last time Henne, 33 in July, saw consistent playing time was 2013, when he completed 60.6% of his passes for 3,241 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
Moore, another free agent QB from a Florida team, will turn 34 in August. Last year, it was reported that he felt slighted by Miami’s signing of Jay Cutler, so he could be looking to move on this offseason.
Chiefs Re-Sign P Dustin Colquitt
The Chiefs have agreed to a new three-year deal with punter Dustin Colquitt, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The new pact will be worth up to $9MM. 
Colquitt is the Chiefs’ longest-tenured player as he has been with the team since 2005. Save for two missed games in 2008, Colquitt has been on the field for every regular season contest in that span. Last year, Colquitt booted 65 punts for 2936 yards, good for an average of 45.2. He also kicked the longest punt in the NFL last season when he drilled a 77-yarder in December. It was the second-longest attempt of his career, next to his 81 yard boot in 2007.
Last year, Colquitt carried a $4.9MM cap number. His new deal will lessen that blow going forward.
Chiefs GM Discusses Watkins, Peters
- Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said cornerback Marcus Peters‘ trade to the Rams had nothing to do with national anthem protests, Pro Football Talk passes along. “This was a football decision. … This wasn’t just one game, wasn’t a month, this was three years of body of work, and we look for consistency. We felt that this was in the best interest of the team,” Veach said.
- Veach also touched on the Chiefs move for Sammy Watkins, saying the team pounced on the receiver in the first minute of free agency, the NFL Network’s James Palmer tweets. Veach said that if Watkins received a call before theirs, the other team would’ve had to call in 30 seconds before they did. The team was motivated to move on Watkins to add him to Tyreek Hill, giving strong-armed quarterback Patrick Mahomes a pair of dynamic, stretch-the-field receivers.
[SOURCE LINK]
Chiefs Re-Sign WR De’Anthony Thomas
The Chiefs announced that they have re-signed wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas. In related news, linebacker Terrance Smith has also been retained.
Thomas, a return specialist, averaged 23.5 yards per kick return last season. He drew interest from other teams – including one offer that would have paid him $1.5MM more than what he got from KC, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter) – but he elected to stay with the Chiefs.
Smith has spent the past two seasons with the Chiefs after going undrafted out of Florida State in 2016. The 24-year-old has compiled 14 tackles and one interception in 24 career games (three starts).
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
RFAs
Tendered at the second-round level ($2.914MM):
- Cowboys DE David Irving (story)
- Giants: C Brett Jones (story via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- Jets: Quincy Enunwa (story)
Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):
- Browns: DT Jamie Meder
- Chiefs: DE Rakeem Nunez-Roches (via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
- Jets: OL Brent Qvale, TE Neal Sterling
- Lions: WR T.J. Jones (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
- Rams: OLB Matt Longacre (via Rapoport)
- Seahawks: DE Dion Jordan (story)
- Texans: C Greg Mancz
Non-tendered:
- Buccaneers: DE Ryan Russell (via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
- Chargers: LB Josh Keyes
- Chiefs: LB Ramik Wilson (via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Dolphins: OL Anthony Steen
- Falcons: RB Terron Ward (via D. Orlando Ledbetter)
- Jaguars: S Peyton Thompson, RB Tyler Gaffney
- Jets: DL Xavier Cooper
- Lions: RB Zach Zenner, DE Brandon Copeland, DL Zac Kerin
- Packers: LB Joe Thomas (via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Panthers: WR Kaelin Clay, CB Ladarius Gunter, TE Scott Simonson, OL David Yankey (via David Newton of ESPN.com)
- Rams: LB Cameron Lynch, T Darrell Williams
- Saints: WR Brandon Coleman, DT David Parry
- Seahawks: RB Thomas Rawls, RB Mike Davis (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
- Steelers: WR Eli Rogers (story via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
- Texans: LB Brian Peters, DE Angelo Blackson, LB Ben Heeney
- Titans: S Curtis Riley (via Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com), RB Bishop Sankey (via Chris Tomasson)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Browns: QB Kevin Hogan
- Colts: TE Erik Swoope, G Jeremy Vujnovich, CB Christopher Milton, LS Luke Rhodes
- Dolphins: C Jake Brendel, LB Mike Hull, CB Jordan Lucas
- Giants: DT Robert Thomas (via Vacchiano)
- Jets: S Doug Middleton FB Lawrence Thomas TE Eric Tomlinson
- Lions: QB Jake Rudock, DT Christian Ringo
- Packers: WR Geronimo Allison (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
- Rams: K Sam Ficken (via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
- Raiders: LB/DE James Cowser, S Erik Harris, G/T Denver Kirkland
- Ravens: LB Patrick Onwuasor, WR Quincy Adeboyejo, OL Matt Skura, OL Maurquice Shakir
- Seahawks: RB J.D. McKissic, DE Quinton Jefferson, DE Branden Jackson (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
Non-tendered:
- Chiefs: DB Keith Baxter (via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Giants: TE Ryan O’Malley, LB Curtis Grant (via Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com)
- Lions: DT Rodney Coe, P Kasey Redfern (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
- Packers: CB Herb Waters, LS Taybor Pepper (via Silverstein)
- Saints: C Jack Allen