Four Personnel Decisions The Chiefs Must Address
The Kansas City Chiefs have some players that must be dealt with this off season. Teams sometimes choose to save now and pay later when it comes to contracts. Usually they do so for an immediate need, but you always pay, sooner or later. There are several Chiefs players that are in that category. Their contracts and 2013 cap number are such there is no way they will remain Chiefs with their current contracts.
October 14, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Tyson Jackson (94) rushes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
#1 Tyson Jackson: The jury is still out on whether or not Tyson Jackson was worthy of the 3rd pick in the draft. He is 26 and started his career at Louisiana State. He has the right size but his play has been underwhelming. He agreed last year to a restructuring of a contract and actually took a pay cut. By giving up $3.755 million in base salary he gained $1.495 million in guaranteed pay, and reduced his contract by one year. This means he will become a free agent at the end of the 2013 season. There is no way he’ll remain a Chief that long. The reason is that his contract in 2013 is huge. His base salary is $14.72 million, with a 2013 cap number of $17.47 million! That’s almost as much as the top quarterbacks in the league receive. Jackson will either be cut or will agree to restructure his contract again to stay with the Chiefs.
#2 Matt Cassel: The jury has decided and convicted Cassel of poor play. His career in Kansas City is done on every level, at least it should be. Cassel, in the fourth year of his contract, is set to make $7.5 million. Including bonuses his cap number is $9.825 million. That’s $9 million more than he should make as a backup quarterback somewhere else. The Chiefs only real option is to cut Cassel before the league year begins so that cap number doesn’t hit us in 2013.
#3 Jamaal Charles: Charles is one of the top five running backs in the league. He deserves to get paid. The top 4 running backs all make more than $7 million per year. No one in the top 10 makes less than $3 million per year. Jamaal Charles is set to make $4.6 million but only $13 million is guaranteed over 6 years. That’s barely over $2 million per year. Players play harder when the organization treats them well. Charles is set to be a free agent in 2016, why not increase his salary slightly as the best player on the Chiefs squad, extend him a year or two and recognize him for his value to the Chiefs.
#4: Steve Breaston: Breaston has had a 1,000 yard season, back in 2008. In 2012, for the Chiefs, he had 7 catches for 74 yards and n0 touchdowns. His average salary is $4.5 million for 3 more years, which translates into the fact that in 2012 the Chiefs payed Breaston $642,857 per reception!
John Dorsey is the new general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs and he has his work cut out for him like any new GM does. It’s easy to look at the numbers and say things don’t make sense. There are sometimes bloated contract situations in which no one intends on following through. This is obviously the case with Tyson Jackson. However, these are four contract situations that must be dealt with for the Chiefs to be successful going forward. You can’t throw good money away. Good teams don’t do that. Paying players that are no longer with the team is dangerous business, but sometimes it happens when these contracts get out of hand.
Let’s trust Dorsey is able to renegotiate and handle each of these in a timely manner. Go Chiefs!