As with any Super Bowl-winning team, the Kansas City Chiefs’ pending free agents will be hot commodities during the upcoming NFL free agency period.
Clubs are not permitted to contact pending free agents until the legal tampering period begins on March 16. The talking heads, however, are already piecing together connections between pending free agents for the Chiefs and their respective teams.
Philadelphia Inquirer beat writer Jeff McClane reported ahead of the Super Bowl that the Philadelphia Eagles have Chiefs’ pending free agent WR Demarcus Robinson, “in their sights.” He notes that Robinson took a top-30 visit with the Eagles ahead of the 2016 NFL draft and was a favorite of GM Howie Roseman. Now that he’s a Super Bowl Champion, the Eagles could have even more incentive to bring him in as they try to get back to the big dance.
The big fish that most everyone has their hearts set on is 26-year-old DT, Chris Jones. Three writers for teams with big needs in the pass-rushing department are already pondering whether their teams might be a fit for Jones. Those teams include the division rival Las Vegas Raiders, the Detroit Lions and the Arizona Cardinals.
I’m not so convinced that Kansas City will be willing to let Jones simply walk in free agency. If I had to make a guess right now, they’ll use the franchise tag on him in order to buy more time to negotiate a long term extension. If they’re unable to negotiate an extension, they’ll seek to trade him to an NFC team to ensure they’ll rarely have to face him.
The Chiefs have several other pending free agents that will likely emerge as targets for teams in the coming weeks. Players like Bashaud Breeland, Kendall Fuller, Reggie Ragland and more could be coveted after their 2019 seasons.
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