On the heals of the report Jamaal Charles may hold out of training camp as he seeks a new contract, Ian Rapoport is tweeting Justin Houston is expected to report to Kansas City Chiefs training camp tomorrow with the rest of the veterans.
While #Chiefs face a potential holdout with RB Jamaal Charles (as KCTV5 reported), LB Justin Houston will be at camp. He’d skipped minicamp
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 22, 2014
Alex Smith is already at camp so at least two of the three players who are currently associated with contract disputes will be at training camp starting tomorrow. Should Charles arrive, things should be in decent shape.
Houston is thought to be seeking a deal somewhere in the neighborhood of what Tamba Hali received when he signed his deal, a $55 million contract with about $20 million guaranteed. Negotiations could get complicated due to the belief amongst some that the previous regime purposely held down Houston’s pass rushing opportunities in order to deflate is value future contract value. This has never been proven, but it could play a role in the numbers Houston demands.
Adding to the compilation is the lack of cap space the Chiefs have in 2015 and the potential new contracts for Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles. Figuring out a way to come to a number all three players can agree on while structuring the contracts in a way that benefits the team’s ability to continue to add talent is going to be complicated.
We can all probably agree there is not going to be a lot of sleep the next few weeks for whoever is on John Dorsey’s contracts and salary cap team. God speed.