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Kansas City Chiefs Place Franchise Tag On Justin Houston

By Leigh Oleszczak

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Manic Monday began in the NFL, as several teams have started placing their franchise tags on their biggest and brightest players. The Kansas City Chiefs were the first team of the day to franchise a player, as they unsurprisingly placed the tag on star outside linebacker Justin Houston, according to ESPN.com.

Things aren’t looking the best right now though, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, as Houston plans to see if other teams would be willing to give up two first round picks to acquire him. Houston and the Chiefs have until July 15th to work out some sort of long-term deal. If a deal isn’t agreed upon, then the two sides can’t talk about contracts again until after the 2015 season is over with, according to ESPN.com.

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Florio states,

"Houston, we’re told, is seriously considering staying away from the Chiefs until the Week 10 deadline for signing the franchise tender. If nothing materializes by then, Houston would sign the tender, finish the season, and hit the market in 2016 — unless the Chiefs plan to tender him again, at a 20-percent raise over the 2015 franchise tender."

The linebacker franchise tender hasn’t been set yet, but Houston might be trying to get a tender for a defensive end, which is typically higher. Florio elaborated on that more,

"Seven years ago, Ravens and Terrell Suggs engaged in a similar fight, with the two sides agreeing to essentially split the difference. For Houston, it could be a bit more challenging because he actually does play a considerable amount of linebacker, dropping into coverage in some passing situations."

Ed Werder tweeted about the price difference between the two positions.

Justin Houston is a vital part of the Kansas City Chiefs defense. He led the year in sacks in 2014 (22) and came half a sack shy of breaking Michael Strahan‘s record. Not to mention, Houston passed Derrick Thomas‘ record of most sacks in a season for the Chiefs. Without him, this defense isn’t nearly as good as they were in 2014.

I don’t see it being a possibility that the Chiefs let Houston get away, but you never know. He wants to seek out other teams and definitely wants as much money as possible. Florio commented with,

"Which makes him more versatile, makes his 22 sacks more impressive, and potentially makes him a lot more attractive to a team with a desperate coach and/or G.M. who may not be around to use the future draft picks that would be sacrificed to get Houston now."

I’m trying not to sweat it too much regarding all of this, but with a player like Justin Houston, other teams would be foolish not to at least make a push for him.

Next: Free Agent Wide Receivers For The Chiefs To Look At

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