Chiefs exercise fifth-year option on Eric Fisher
The Kansas City Chiefs have exercised the firth-year option on left tackle Eric Fisher.
Kansas City general manager John Dorsey has picked up the fifth-year option on left tackle and former No. 1 overall pick Eric Fisher, keeping him with the Chiefs for at least this season and next.
The #Chiefs have exercised their fifth-year option of LT Eric Fisher, the club announces.
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) May 2, 2016
Fisher is entering his fourth season with the team, having improved significantly last year over his previous two campaigns. Fisher is only 25 years old, so he is entering his prime. However, Kansas City is paying a heavy price, with his option being worth $11.9 million. Should the Chiefs cut him before March 2017 for any reason, there is no guaranteed money owed.
Most will say that’s too much for a year of Fisher and they would be correct. The right amount of money is likely $9-10 million per season in the current market. Still, Dorsey was smart to pick up the option for a few reasons.
By making this move, it becomes much easier and perhaps cheaper to sign Fisher to a long-term extension. Fisher knows he is under team control for two seasons with an uncertain future after that. Dorsey could offer a four or five-year deal with $30 million guaranteed, and Fisher would likely jump at that kind of cash. If Fisher was going to hit free agency after this season, he might wait it out. The Chiefs now have all the leverage.
In addition, Fisher would have been one of two big free agents for the Chiefs after this season, along with nose tackle Dontari Poe. Suddenly, Poe is the only must-have for Dorsey and there is always the franchise tag. Kansas City is in very good shape in terms of retaining all its talent going into 2017.