Kansas City Chiefs Salary Cap Questions: What To Expect From The Chiefs In February

October 5, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs center Rodney Hudson (61) blocks during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

WHAT TO DO WITH JUSTIN HOUSTON AND RODNEY HUDSON

Justin Houston is going to be franchised. In no situation will the Chiefs let Houston walk come March 10, whether it is because they’ve reached a contract agreement or because the Chiefs have franchised him.

We know that Houston’s contract is going to be massive but getting him signed to a new deal may actually be cheaper for the Chiefs in terms of the salary cap than tagging him. Things can be done to manipulate the cap via a contract while the franchise tag is an expensive punt of the negotiations or an expensive extension to the negotiating period.

Should the Chiefs tag Houston – a decision that must be made by March 2 – Dorsey will have until July 15 to reach a new contract. If one can’t be done then Houston and KC can’t negotiate a new deal until after the 2015 season. You think this situation is a nightmare, imagine if KC has to figure out a contract for both Houston and Poe at the same time.

This is the offseason to get a deal done with Houston. The sooner it happens, the better it will be for the Chiefs.

Hudson has a more immediate urgency as it is unlikely KC tags him unless they reach a deal with Houston in the next few weeks. Dorsey simply cannot let Hudson hit the open market, not only because of how much more expensive he will become but because the Chiefs’ offensive line will have taken a massive blow if he leaves.

We don’t know much about Hudson’s contract demands but we can estimate he is looking for a salary range of somewhere between $5 million to $8 million per season. Structure matters, as always, so the Chiefs can manipulate the deal to reduce his cost for the 2015 season and let the bulk of the cost come later in the contract. But we can likely assume it will take about $5-6 million in cap space to get him locked up for the 2015 season.

There is no doubt Houston is a Chief in 2015, but there is some doubt Hudson will still be here. Ultimately, I’d imagine Dorsey finds a way to get a deal done.

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