Alex Smith Signed Off On Patrick Mahomes Pick
As the Chiefs were preparing to trade up 17 spots in the first round of this year’s draft to select Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes 10th overall, they reached out to starting signal-caller Alex Smith to make sure he’d be OK with it, general manager John Dorsey told the NFL Network on Monday (via Conor Orr of NFL.com). “You know, Alex is the consummate professional,” said Dorsey. “He’s been through these types of situations before and we made sure we communicated with Alex leading up to the draft that we may make a move like this. And when we were on the clock and traded up with Buffalo, we made sure we again got in contact with Alex and he’s all on board with this.” Even after the addition of Mahomes, Smith knows the Chiefs are “his team,” per Dorsey, who praised the 33-year-old for owning “the fourth-winningest record” among QBs since his KC tenure began in 2013. The Chiefs have indeed posted an excellent regular-season mark (41-20) with Smith at the controls, but they’ve managed only one playoff win in three trips. Now, thanks in no small part to the Chiefs’ investment in Mahomes, Smith appears unlikely to last as their starter for much longer. The 12-year veteran’s contract will expire after the 2018 season.
More from the AFC:
- The Ravens are the best fit for free agent running back LeGarrette Blount, opines ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley, who writes that the ex-Patriot’s “bruising” style would be perfect for Baltimore’s offense. Moreover, running back is a need for the Ravens, Hensley points out. With Kenneth Dixon set to miss the opening quarter of the season on account of a suspension and Terrance West having led the team last year with a so-so 774 yards on 193 carries, it’s hard to argue with Hensley. PFR’s Zach Links recently made a case for Baltimore to sign Blount, who set a career high with 1,161 rushing yards and finished with an NFL-best 18 touchdowns on the ground last season.
- Retired quarterback Peyton Manning had a hand in the Dolphins’ late-winter acquisition of tight end Julius Thomas from the Jaguars, Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post details. Manning played in Indianapolis under now-Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christiansen, who contacted the future Hall of Famer about Thomas when Miami was considering trading for him. Thomas’ best seasons, the 2013 and ’14 campaigns, came in Denver with Manning under center (and now-Dolphins head coach Adam Gase at offensive coordinator). Having tossed 24 touchdown passes to Thomas during that two-year span, Manning offered Christiansen a positive review of the tight end, saying “that (Thomas) figured it out. (Thomas’) figure-it-out factor was high. That’s what you look for. There’s a guy who came in and probably didn’t know a whole bunch about football, or played very little. His experience was very minimal, and then (he) came in and figured it out and then worked.”
- The Titans are likely to promote Jon Salge to director of college scouting, a source told ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Salge, a college scout who’s in his 11th year with the Titans, would replace the recently fired Blake Beddingfield.
Chiefs Make Two Moves
Kansas City Chiefs
Details On Jaye Howard's Bears Deal
- Jaye Howard‘s deal with the Bears calls for a base salary of $775K but can make up to $4MM with incentives, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Chiefs will be keeping a close eye on Howard’s performance thanks to the offset language in his contract. The Chiefs can recoup up to $3.75MM in cap space if Howard maxes out his incentives.
Chiefs Sign Three Draft Picks
The Chiefs announced their 12-man contingent of UDFAs on Saturday and have reached agreements with three of their six draft picks — each joining the team as a Day 3 selection.
Kansas City signed fourth-round wide receiver Jehu Chesson (Michigan), fifth-round linebacker Ukime Eligwe (Georgia Southern) and sixth-round safety Leon McQuay III (USC), Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star reports.
This leaves only the team’s top three selections — first-round quarterback Patrick Mahomes, second-round edge defender Tanoh Kpassagnon and third-round running back Kareem Hunt — as unsigned rookies as the team conducts its rookie minicamp, which began this weekend and housed 69 tryout candidates.
Chiefs Sign 12 UDFAs
The Chiefs announced the signings of 12 undrafted players. Here is the full list:
- Corin Brooks, T (Texas-Permian Basin)
- Devin Chappell, S (Oregon State)
- Gehrig Dieter, WR (Alabama)
- Anas Hasic, WR (West Florida)
- Wyatt Houston, TE (Utah State)
- Marcus Kemp, WR (Hawaii)
- Ashton Lampkin, CB (Oklahoma State)
- Damien Mama, G (USC)
- Alonzo Moore, WR (Nebraska)
- J.R. Nelson, CB (Montana)
- Jordan Sterns, S (Oklahoma State)
- Tony Stevens, WR (Auburn)
Jamaal Charles Discusses Departure From Chiefs
- New Broncos running back Jamaal Charles recently appeared on the “Unmatched Sports with Cal Jones” podcast, and he discussed the Chiefs decision to cut bait on him and his $3.75MM contract. “I thought maybe they would give me a grace period. But I haven’t performed the last two years,” Charles said (via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post). “At the same time, I know it was about business. I think it would have been cool if they came and told me about a pay cut because I think I would’ve taken that pay cut, because I think I owed it to them for allowing me to be on the team. But I felt like when I got that call, it was just like, man, it was just OK, man. If it can happen to Peyton Manning it can happen to anybody.” Charles left Kansas City as the organization’s all-time leader in rushing yards.
[SOURCE LINK]
Chiefs Auditioning Garrett Hartley
There will be more than 70 players attending the Chiefs’ rookie camp, including several intriguing veterans. According to Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star (via Twitter), the organization will be auditioning kicker Garrett Hartley and cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste.
Hartley is presumably being brought in to provide some competition for incumbent Cairo Santos. The free agent kicker hasn’t appeared in an NFL contest since 2014, when he played in a pair of games for the Browns. The 30-year-old was a mainstay on the Saints special teams unit from 2010 through 2013. His best season came in 2012, when he converted 81.8-percent of his field goal attempts and 100-percent of his extra point attempts.
While the Chiefs still haven’t committed to Santos longterm, it’s probably a long shot that the 25-year-old will end up losing his gig. The former Tulane product has served as Kansas City’s kicker for the past three seasons, and he had his best campaign in 2016. Santos finished the year having converted 88.6-percent of his field goals and 92-percent of his extra point attempts.
The Saints were hoping that Jean-Baptiste would be a consistent presence in their secondary when they selected him in the second round of the 2014 draft. However, the cornerback has had difficulty finding a role in the NFL, as he’s only appeared in four games over three seasons. If he does catch on with the Chiefs, he’ll be competing with a number of cornerbacks (including Phillip Gaines, Kenneth Acker, D.J. White, Terrance Mitchell, and Vernon Harris) for a top reserve role.
Chiefs Claim Kelvin Taylor
The Chiefs have claimed running back Kelvin Taylor off waivers from the Seahawks, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.com.
The son of Fred Taylor, the greatest running back in Jaguars history, Kelvin Taylor hit waivers Thursday when Seattle cut him. He spent part of last season on the Seahawks’ practice squad and a week on their active roster, but he didn’t see any game action. Taylor, an ex-Florida Gator, originally went to the 49ers in the sixth round of last year’s draft, but he didn’t advance beyond their practice squad before they cut him in November.
As was the case in both San Francisco and Seattle, Taylor will face an uphill battle in attempting to carve out a role in Kansas City. The Chiefs have no shortage of options at running back, including veterans Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West and C.J. Spiller and rookie third-rounder Kareem Hunt.
Chiefs Sign De'Vante Bausby
- The Chiefs have signed free agent cornerback De’Vante Bausby, the club announced today. Bausby, 23, was waived by Chicago on Monday. The former undrafted free agent bounced on and off the Bears’ active roster in 2016, ultimately starting four games for Chicago and posting 11 tackles while playing on roughly 10% of the team’s defensive snaps. Kansas City currently has seven cornerbacks on its roster, but didn’t select one in last week’s draft, so Bausby may have a shot to make the squad. He’ll likely need to pick up special teams duty, something he didn’t do last season.
Top 8 Fits For RB LeGarrette Blount
In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen veteran running backs Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles, and Marshawn Lynch find new homes. However, LeGarrette Blount is still without a job. 
The Lions and Giants are known to be in on Blount, but we can’t help but wonder if there could be other potential fits out there for the player who I consider to be the best running back currently on the market. The PFR staff huddled up on Wednesday to run down possible landing spots for the power back:
- Giants – The Giants have been connected to Blount for some time now and the interest is said to be mutual. The Giants are looking for a bruising running back to complement Paul Perkins and Blount, presumably, wants to join a potential contender, so it’s a solid match. Eli Manning‘s 2016 struggles are well documented, but a well-balanced offense would help him find Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall as much as possible.
- Lions – On paper, the Lions should have had a strong running game with Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick leading the way. Unfortunately, injuries cost both players significant time last year and rookie Dwayne Washington didn’t set the world on fire when given the opportunity. Zach Zenner had some flashes of brilliance, but the lesson learned here is that you can never have enough depth. Blount would be a great counter balance to Abdullah’s speed and Riddick’s reception focused game and he could be called on as the No. 1 guy if the injury bug strikes again.
- Packers – Running back was a clear need for the Packers heading into the draft, but they did not select a top RB from this year’s deep pool of talent. Now, they need running backs even more after releasing Christine Michael and Don Jackson earlier this week. WR-turned-RB Ty Montgomery figures to be the lead guy in Green Bay, but the Packers could use some experience behind him. It’s not clear if the Packers have reached out to Blount’s reps yet, but they should.
- Ravens – You might have missed it in the midst of the free agency frenzy, but the league suspended Kenneth Dixon for the first four games of the season after a PED policy violation. The Ravens can use free agent pickup Danny Woodhead as their lead back in the opening month, but it would make sense to add some depth along with Javorius Allen, Lorenzo Taliaferro, and Terrance West, particularly since Woodhead missed the majority of last season.
- Dolphins – The Dolphins aren’t an obvious fit, but it’s possible that they could be in the market for a running back if Damien Williams continues to stay away from the team. The downside here is that Jay Ajayi is the clear No. 1 guy and Blount would have to fight Kenyan Drake for carries. In a scenario where Miami signs Blount and Williams is eventually brought back into the fold, there would be even less work to go around.
- Chiefs – After moving on from Charles, the Chiefs might want to add some veteran help to a depth chart featuring Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West, and rookie Kareem Hunt. C.J. Spiller currently projects as the RB4, but he hasn’t been able to stick with a team in some time.
- Redskins – The Redskins are shopping Matt Jones and that could free up a spot for someone like Blount. The Redskins have four other backs in Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson, Keith Marshall, and Mack Brown, but there are no superstars in the bunch.
- Eagles – Ryan Mathews is scheduled to carry a $5MM cap number in 2017 and the Eagles can wipe $4MM of that off of the books by cutting him. Releasing the speedy but aging Darren Sproles would also yield $4MM in savings with zero dead money. At this stage of the offseason, Blount would represent a much cheaper option than either guy. Beyond Sproles and Mathews, there’s not much experience between Wendell Smallwood, Byron Marshall, Terrell Watson, and fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey.
Connor Byrne and Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.