The Kansas City Chiefs have to franchise Justin Houston before 4 p.m. on March 2. After that, their priorities turn to re-signing Rodney Hudson and finding help at wide receiver.
To no surprise, one of their rivals, the Oakland Raiders, won’t be be lending a helping hand.
The Kansas City Star‘s Terez Paylor reported that the Chiefs met with Hudson’s reps at last week’s combine.
A source tells me the #Chiefs met with C Rodney Hudson’s representative at the combine, and talks will continue between the two sides.
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) February 23, 2015
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora notes that if another team steals the center, though, it might be Kansas City’s nemesis:
"Chiefs center Rodney Hudson will outpace some projections. He came this close to signing a four-year extension during the season that would have been worth $6M a season — very good money. I bet he ends up with at least $7M a year in free agency, however, and I continue to hear the Raiders are looking hard at him."
Switching positions, Randall Cobb’s name has gained traction in Kansas City throughout recent weeks. On Wednesday, La Canfora stated that the Green Bay Packers know his “market is likely to get out of hand,” and the team will focus on re-signing Bryan Bulaga and Letroy Guion instead.
Earlier in the week, ESPN’s Bill Williamson claimed that there were whispers of Oakland making a play on the wideout.
No shock, but hear expectation around NFL is #Raiders will make run at Cobb. But #Packers not expected to hit him hit FA.
— Bill Williamson (@BWilliamsonNFL) February 23, 2015
The Raiders have been extremely frugal lately—so much so, as USA Today‘s Tom Pelissero points out, they have to spend a significant amount of change just to satisfy league requirements:
"Over the past two seasons, the Raiders spent the least cash: about $205.3 million, or 80.2% of the $256 million total they were allotted, per the NFLPA. If the cap goes up by $10 million per year in both 2015 and ’16, the Raiders’ average payroll for the next two seasons must increase by more than $40 million just to hit the minimum."
On the heels of Fasano’s release, Over the Cap estimates—based on its projected cap ceiling—that Kansas City has just a hair over $6 million in cap space; franchising Houston is expected to cost more than double that amount.
The bottom line is that the Chiefs don’t have any financial wiggle room and, technically speaking, the Raiders have too much. Kansas City can partially compensate via back-loaded contracts and/or larger signing bonuses, but at the end of the day, Oakland will be able to up the ante.
Regardless, Reggie McKenzie won’t be doing John Dorsey any favors.
Next: Is Dorial Green-Beckham Worth The Risk?