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Kadarius Toney Still In Chiefs’ Plans; Latest On Rashee Rice

By | at April 16, 2024 8:47 pm

It certainly would be understandable if the Chiefs washed their hands of Kadarius Toney after the events of 2023. Although the shifty wide receiver stayed healthier than he did in 2021 and ’22, his inconsistency cost the eventual champions during a clunky season for its passing attack.

Patrick Mahomes‘ first QBR finish outside the top five (eighth) involved a 14th-place finish in passer rating, and drops from Travis Kelce and his far less reliable wide receiver corps played a major role in an inconsistent Chiefs regular season. Toney was the lead culprit, and his infamous offside infraction and Week 16 drop that led to a Patriots interception highlighted a bad season from the first-round pick. The Chiefs went 6-0 down the stretch with Toney and Skyy Moore inactive; the former was a healthy scratch in Super Bowl LVIII.

That roster decision came after Toney criticized the Chiefs in a rant before the AFC championship game. The former Giants first-rounder accused the team of lying about his injury status. Kansas City’s injury report listed Toney as being out due to ankle and hip injuries for the AFC decider in Baltimore. Toney, whom the Giants moved due to reliability concerns, totaled just 169 receiving yards in 13 games last season.

The Chiefs owe Toney $2.53MM in guaranteed salary in his contract year. While the Marquise Brown addition will likely precede another high draft choice being used on a receiver (especially in light of the Rashee Rice developments), Andy Reid is not closing the book on Toney’s time in Kansas City.

“Listen, I mean, Kadarius is arguably one of the most talented guys we have on the team. It’s just a matter of staying healthy and being able to stay on the field,” Reid said (h/t Yardbarker.com’s Clark Dalton). “You always hear about the reliability, accountability, all those things that go into it. And so, I’m expecting him to come back ripping and ready to go.”

With the Giants, Toney encountered chronic hamstring trouble; ankle, quad, knee and oblique issues also sidelined the Florida alum during his first two seasons. Frequently absent with the Giants and Chiefs in 2022, Toney logged 15 missed games over his first two seasons. After being forced out of the 2022 AFC title game, however, Toney set a Super Bowl record with a 65-yard punt return; that came shortly after a 5-yard touchdown reception in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII win over the Eagles.

Kansas City’s top three receivers for 2024 could consist of Brown, Rice and a to-be-determined draftee. That would leave Toney and Moore’s roles uncertain. Rice, however, has a host of issues to navigate.

Reid said (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport) Rice is virtually attending the Chiefs’ offseason program after being booked on eight felony charges in connection with a hit-and-run incident in Dallas. This has thrown another significant offseason hurdle into the equation for the Chiefs. Kansas City has been here before with a wide receiver, with Tyreek Hill being banned from the team facility — amid a second bout of off-field trouble — during the 2019 offseason.

It remains to be seen how the NFL will proceed with Rice, who is cooperating with authorities after a six-car accident that came shortly after his car reached 119mph, per the Dallas Morning News’ Jamie Landers and Kelli Smith. Rice, who was believed to be street racing through traffic on a Dallas highway, suffered minor injuries in the wreck.

The team’s top 2023 wideout staying away from the first phase of the Chiefs’ offseason program affects the roles of Toney and Moore, who did not live up to expectations in 2023. A suspension stands to be in the cards for Rice, though he has a significant legal matter to deal with before an NFL ban reaches the front burner. For now, Toney remains a Chief, as it appears Reid is fine giving him another shot.

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Chiefs’ Louis Rees-Zammit On 2024 Role

By | at April 14, 2024 9:45 am

When former Gloucester Rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit signed with the Chiefs late last month, it was reported that he would be utilized in a running back/wide receiver hybrid role as well as in the return game. As the player himself recently noted, he will primarily be deployed as a return specialist.

Rees-Zammit, 23, entered the NFL via the league’s International Player Pathway program and also drew interest from the Jets, Browns, and Broncos. He indicated that he chose Kansas City over his other suitors because of the clarity of the vision that the Chiefs’ coaching staff has for him, which includes a focus on return duties.

“Yeah, so the plan we’ve got is, obviously, the new kickoff rules this year are absolutely massive,” Rees-Zammit said (via Charles Goldman of AtoZSports.com). “That’s where my main position is going to be. So I’ve got to fight to be a starter in that positon this year.”

Of course, the new kickoff rules that Rees-Zammit references are those that were recently approved by league owners and that are laid out by ESPN’s Jeff Darlington here. The special teams coordinators who crafted the changes are hoping for a kickoff return rate of at least 80% in 2024 after just 21.7% of kickoffs were returned in 2023. The modifications have already had an impact on roster decisions; we recently learned that the Steelers initiated contract talks with All-Pro returner Cordarrelle Patterson when talks on the new rules were gaining steam, and the Ravens’ recent acquisition of Deonte Harty was motivated at least in part by Harty’s return abilities.

The Chiefs returned just 12 total kickoffs in 2023, nine of which were handled by Richie James, who is presently a free agent. James also led Kansas City with 20 punt returns, and it is certainly possible that, if Rees-Zammit makes the club, he will be tasked with punt return work as well.

The Welshman did indicate that he would not be limited to the third phase of American football, and that he would have a role in KC’s offense. He certainly possesses the athletic traits to do so, having posted a 4.43-second 40-yard dash time, 9’7″ broad jump, and 29″ vertical jump during his pro day.

Ultimately, though, his chances of cracking the roster and his contributions will depend on how quickly he picks up the game.

“And then it’s within the offense, it’s about how quick I can learn the playbook,” he said. “Because, you know, we’ve got a plan to put me in various positions, play out the backfield at running back, be a slot receiver, just being able to use me as much as possible and be creative with me. So it’s all about me learning the playbook and getting the chemistry with all the players on offense to be able to use me.”

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NFL Contract Details: Giants, Danna, Wright

By | at April 13, 2024 2:38 pm

Here are some details on contracts recently signed around the NFL:

  • Drew Lock, QB (Giants): One year, $5MM. Opposed to initial thoughts, the announced value of $5MM is pretty true to the actual value of Lock’s new deal, if not a bit underreported. According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the contract will have a guaranteed value of $4.95MM with only a $50K workout bonus not being guaranteed. As the projected starter for spring ball, Lock will almost certainly collect that workout bonus. In addition, Lock will be able to earn up to $3MM in incentives. $1MM can come from playing time ($250K for 40-49 percent of the team’s offensive snaps, $250K for 50-59 percent, $250 for 60-69 percent, and $250 for 70+ percent); $1MM can come from personal performance with a minimum of 224 pass attempts ($250K for 92.5 passer rating, $250K for a completion percentage of at least 65, $250K for 15 touchdown passes and an 88 passer rating, $250K for 2,000 passing yards and an 88 passer rating); and $1MM can come from playing time and team performance ($500K for 55-69 percent of the team’s offensive snaps and a playoff berth, $500K for 70+ percent and a playoff berth).
  • Isaiah McKenzie, WR (Giants): One year, $1.38MM. Per Duggan, McKenzie’s new contract has a guaranteed amount consisting of a $75K signing bonus, a much lower signing bonus than other New York receivers on veteran minimum deals. He can make an additional $92.5K in per game active roster bonuses for the year.
  • Jordan Phillips, DT (Giants): One year, $1.8MM. Duggan also gave us details on Phillips’ new deal, reporting a guaranteed amount of $430K in the form of a signing bonus. Phillips can earn an additional $100K in a workout bonus and $50K in per game active roster bonuses.
  • Mike Danna, DE (Chiefs): Three years, $24MM. The $13MM of guaranteed money that was originally reported is comprised of a $6.5MM signing bonus, the entirety of Danna’s 2024 base salary of $2.25MM, and $4.25MM of his 2025 base salary (worth a total of $5.24MM). Danna can earn a workout bonus of $250K in each of year of the deal and will receive per game active roster bonuses in the second and third years of the deal that can total up to $510K per year.
  • Brock Wright, TE (Lions): Three years, $12MM. The Lions matched the 49ers’ offer sheet for Wright and signed him to a new deal that includes a guaranteed amount of $4.6MM. That amount consists of a $3.55MM signing bonus and Wright’s 2024 base salary of $1.06MM. Next year, Wright can earn a potential option bonus of $2.23MM and workout bonuses of $50K apiece in the second and third years of the deal. Also, in those back two years, Wright can earn $255K in $15K per game active roster bonuses in 2025 and $340K in $20K per game active roster bonuses in 2026. The contract also includes a potential out after the second year that would allow Detroit to avoid a $4.85MM cap hit with only $2.13MM of dead cap.
0 comments Detroit Lions Kansas City Chiefs New York Giants

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Taken Into Custody

By | at April 11, 2024 8:19 pm

APRIL 11: Rice has turned himself in, Lopez reports. The Chiefs wide receiver was moved to the DeSoto (Texas) Jail, posting a combined bond of $40K. All eight of Rice’s charges are felony counts. Additionally, SMU suspended the driver of the other vehicle in this accident — Knox — earlier Thursday.

APRIL 10: Rashee Rice‘s legal situation stemming from a hit-and-run incident in Dallas has seen a notable but expected development. The second-year Chiefs receiver is the subject of an arrest warrant, WFAA’s Rebecca Lopez and Paul Livengood report.

Rice is facing a total of eight charges, per the warrant: six counts of collision involving bodily injury, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and one count of aggravated assault. The report indicates Rice now has one day to turn himself in to police.

The 23-year-old was one of two people behind the wheel when a Lamborghini SUV and a Corvette lost control the night of March 30. The drivers were believed to be racing, and they fled the scene immediately after the crash. 10.8 grams of marijuana was found in Rice’s vehicle after the crash, per a separate WFAA report. That amount would lead to a Class B misdemeanor charge in Texas. The latter report adds that all occupants (six in total, between the two vehicles) fled the scene of the crash.

Rice has since retained legal counsel, and he has accepted responsibility for his role in the crash (which caused two of its victims to be hospitalized). Rice is also leasing the Corvette, which was being driven at the time by Theodore Knox. The latter now faces the same charges as Rice, per the Dallas Police Department. Knox is listed on SMU’s football roster; Rice spent his four-year college career with the Mustangs.

Rice’s attorney acknowledged last week that he and his client expected charges to be laid in this situation. He added the latter intends to cover the expenses facing the victims of the crash. Rice has publicly stated he will cooperate with authorities in their investigation, and doing so will now include surrendering himself to police in the immediate future.

Kansas City endured plenty of struggles in the receiving corps last season, but Rice had a productive rookie season with 938 yards and seven touchdowns on 79 receptions. He added another 26 catches and one score during the team’s run to a second straight Super Bowl, positioning himself as a key figure in the team’s offense for 2024 and beyond. The Chiefs signed Marquise Brown in free agency, but the team could make further additions during the upcoming draft.

The NFL indicated (via Mark Maske of the Washington Post) the league continues to monitor the Rice situation. Legal action is not required for fines or suspensions to be handed down, but it would not come as a surprise if the league elected to await further developments now that formal charges are in place.

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Traded NFL Draft Picks For 2024

By | at April 10, 2024 10:21 pm

As the 2024 draft nears, numerous picks have already changed hands. A handful of picks have already been moved twice, with a few being traded three times. Multiple deals from 2021 impact this draft. Here are the 2024 picks to have been traded thus far:

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

14 comments 2024 NFL Draft Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Washington Commanders

QB Carson Wentz Addresses Chiefs Deal

By | at April 8, 2024 11:15 am

After spending much of the 2023 season without a deal, Carson Wentz secured his next pact much earlier with respect to the 2024 campaign. The former No. 2 pick joined the Chiefs on a one-year deal, one which came about after discussions with a former teammate familiar with coaches Andy Reid and Matt Nagy.

Wentz decided to sign with Kansas City in part due to the strong reference Reid and Nagy received from Nick Foles. Wentz explained in the wake of his deal becoming official that Foles spoke well of the coaching pair due to his time spent with them as an Eagles and Chiefs signal-caller.

“I remember all the good things [Foles] had to say about his time here,” Wentz said, via ESPN’s Adam Teicher. “He absolutely loved it. He loved working with those guys, and those things he said to me back then definitely still rang true in my head as I was making this decision… Those things were definitely a factor and gave me a little more peace and comfort in knowing what I was getting into.”

The 31-year-old held a number of starting positions as he bounced around the league in recent years. After putting up underwhelming totals with the Colts and Commanders in 2021 and ’22, though, Wentz did not land a deal this past season until joining the Rams in November. Los Angeles elected to bring in Jimmy Garoppolo to serve as Matthew Stafford‘s backup, leaving Wentz in need of a new team.

By heading to Kansas City, he will earn $2.2MM guaranteed while backing up Patrick Mahomes. Wentz could earn another $1.1MM via incentives, and his success (should he see the field during the 2024 season) will of course depend in large part on his ability to mesh well within Reid and Nagy’s scheme. In the event that were to take place, Foles’ recommendation would prove to be an effective one and Wentz could play his way into an extended stay in Kansas City.

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Dallas Mayor Advocates For Chiefs To Relocate To Dallas

By | at April 7, 2024 12:53 pm

Voters in Jackson County (Missouri) recently shot down a ballot initiative that would have generated, via a sales-tax extension, $800MM for renovations to Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs’ home venue. Prior to the vote, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and team president Mark Donovan suggested the club would consider relocation if the measure was not passed.

While such a move would still qualify as a major surprise and would take a long time to come to fruition — the club’s lease with the Truman Sports Complex runs through 2031 — sharks are smelling blood in the water. As Lukas Weese of The Athletic writes, Dallas mayor Eric Johnson is openly advocating for the Chiefs to move to Dallas (subscription required).

In the wake of the voters’ decision on the sales-tax extension, Johnson said on X, “welcome home Dallas Texans” (prior to moving to Kansas City and rebranding as the Chiefs after the 1962 season, the club began play as the Dallas Texans, a charter member of the AFL). While that was something of a tongue-in-cheek comment, Johnson is serious about the possibility of bringing the franchise back to Texas.

“The connections are so deep, the history is so rich,” Johnson said. “We actually could put together the deals that would make sense for them to get them here.”

Johnson’s enthusiasm aside, even if the Chiefs were to undertake a relocation effort, there are any number of hurdles that could thwart a move to Dallas. One such hurdle, of course, is the fact that there is already a team in that city, and it is the most valuable team in the league, under the stewardship of perhaps the NFL’s most influential owner.

Despite having failed to advance to the Super Bowl since the end of the 1995 campaign, Jerry Jones‘ Cowboys remain hugely popular and were recently valued at $9 billion. Several years ago, Jones dismissed the idea of another team competing in his market, saying, “you can be rest assured that you would not have the NFL supporting another team because of the kind of value that the game and the NFL receives of having [the] Dallas Cowboys as one of its marquee teams.”

Johnson, however, is not so sure. “When the NFL looks at the next round of expansion, they will not find an American city where there is not an NFL franchise currently that will be a more lucrative or faster-growing market to put a team,” he said.

Weese, citing census reports, says that the population of Dallas-Fort Worth has increased by approximately 23% since 2010, and current estimates suggest that it could be the third-largest metro area in the country — behind only Los Angeles and New York, both of which have two NFL clubs — by the 2030s.

With respect to Jones’ comments, Johnson said, “you never say never because [Jones is] a businessman and he’s in the business of making money. There is a strong argument to make that the Cowboys’ franchise value is not tied to the city it plays in or is connected with. It’s an international phenomenon at this point.”

Johnson, who took office in 2019, has been seeking another major sports franchise for Dallas for some time, and two years ago, he put together an ad hoc committee as part of that endeavor. As far as where a hypothetical second NFL team would play, he has floated Hensley Field, a 738-acre city-owned site that was once the Dallas Naval Air Station, as a possible home. The site is on the water and offers the chance for an increasingly popular mixed-use development that could represent “an economically vibrant district of the city that brings new opportunities to its residents and workers.”

The Chiefs, fresh off their third Super Bowl title in five years, are a bonafide dynasty that still has many more years of Patrick Mahomes to enjoy. It is far too soon for their local fans to panic, but if Hunt, Donovan & Co. seek to move, they will find that one of the country’s biggest cities has its arms wide open.

42 comments City of Dallas Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs Sign QB Carson Wentz

By | at April 6, 2024 8:45 am

APRIL 6: Wentz’s one-year deal has a base value of $3.325MM, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The deal includes $2.2MM in guaranteed money, and Wentz can earn another $1.1MM via per-game active roster bonuses.

This is a solid improvement on the one-year, $1.3MM deal that Wentz signed with the Rams in November. Of course, it’s also a massive drop from the four-year, $128MM deal he signed with the Eagles in 2019.

APRIL 1: Patrick Mahomes has a new backup. The Chiefs have signed veteran Carson Wentz, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. The veteran QB got a one-year deal from Kansas City.

The former second-overall pick spent the 2023 campaign as Matthew Stafford‘s backup on the Rams. Wentz ended up getting into two games, including a start against the 49ers in the regular season finale. The 31-year-old completed 17 of his 24 pass attempts in that game, throwing for 163 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in an eventual Rams victory. Wentz was also active on the ground in that game, compiling 56 yards and a touchdown on 17 rushes.

The Rams ended up pivoting in a different direction at QB2 this offseason, signing Jimmy Garoppolo despite the veteran’s impending suspension. That move all but ended Wentz’s chances of re-signing in Los Angeles, but he’s apparently landed on his feet with the defending Super Bowl champs.

Chad Henne served as Mahomes’ backup for a few years before Blaine Gabbert took on the QB2 role in 2023. Gabbert ended up getting into a pair of games for Kansas City (including one start), tossing three interceptions. The former first-round pick hit free agency after the season, leaving the Chiefs with only Chris Oladokun and Ian Book as the backup quarterbacks.

Wentz will surely slide into that primary backup role, with the veteran bringing 93 games of starting experience to Kansas City. He got his last extended look as a starter with Washington in 2022. In seven starts (eight appearances) that season, Wentz completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,755 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Wentz was briefly demoted to QB2 after returning from a fractured finger, but he regained the starting gig down the stretch of that season.

Of course, the Chiefs are hoping Wentz will barely see the field in 2024. Mahomes has been incredibly healthy in his six years as a full-time starter, only missing four regular season games.

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Chiefs To Re-Sign DE Mike Danna

By | at April 5, 2024 5:27 pm

Mike Danna spent more than three weeks in free agency, but he will circle back to the team that drafted him. The Chiefs have a deal in place to keep the young defensive end, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets.

A former fifth-round pick who became a starter after the Chiefs cut Frank Clark, Danna has totaled 11.5 sacks over the past two seasons (6.5 in 2023). The Chiefs are keeping him on a three-year deal. The Chiefs gave Chris Jones a monster deal to stay, and they will retain another core D-lineman as well.

Included among PFR’s top 50 free agents (43rd), Danna certainly took his time before finding a deal. Rather than agreeing on a “prove it” pact — which is often the case once April hits — the former Michigan and Central Michigan pass rusher received a multiyear commitment. The deal is worth $24MM, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who adds $13MM is guaranteed. Considering we are in early April, that represents a nice accord for the contract-year starter.

Although the Chiefs gave Charles Omenihu a two-year, $16MM contract in 2023, they kept Danna in their starting lineup opposite George Karlaftis once Omenihu returned from his domestic violence suspension. Omenihu played a regular role, but the veteran operated as a rotational cog behind Danna. The Chiefs have used Danna, 26, as an inside rusher as well. He will stick around with the two-time reigning champions, who also brought back defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi this offseason.

During Clark’s stay, Danna mostly worked as a backup. Between the 2021 and ’22 seasons, however, the former MAC recruit forced four combined fumbles. Danna’s 21 QB pressures ranked just outside the top 60 last season, though his 13 QB hits were a career high. The 6-foot-2 pass rusher started all four Chiefs playoff games, logging 58 snaps in Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII overtime triumph.

Omenihu suffered a torn ACL during the AFC championship game, amplifying Danna’s importance, and the suspension he incurred voids future guarantees. That would give the Chiefs an out on that contract, which calls for a $6.74MM base salary in 2024. The team also used a first-round pick on Felix Anudike-Uzomah, but the local product did not play much as a rookie. With Karlaftis, Danna, Omenihu and Anudike-Uzomah, the Chiefs are nearly set to run it back at D-end in 2024.

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