The Kansas City Chiefs would likely love to have Jaye Howard back. The unrestricted free agent is going to get paid somewhere after proving he can be a force at both defensive end and nose tackle in the 3-4, notching 5.5 sacks in 2015.
Howard is 27 years old and certainly looking to be paid like a top defensive lineman. After the loss to the New England Patriots a few weeks ago, Howard told the following to Herbie Teope of Chiefs Digest and the Topeka Capital-Journal.
"“I want to come back,” Howard said. “These are my brothers I’m going to war with — (Dontari) Poe, (Allen) Bailey and Nick Williams, (Mike) DeVito. I want to be a part of this. This is just the beginning right now that we started. We can make a run for years, especially with our D-line group, so hopefully it works out.”“Ultimately and truthfully, I got to take care of my family at this point,” Howard said. “I want to be paid like one of the top D-linemen in this league, and I felt like I deserve that. I played well enough to get that and hopefully we can get something done. I’d love to be back here.”"
During the season, Mike Daniels of the Green Bay Packers was given four years and $41 million with $12 million guaranteed. In January, the Denver Broncos further set the market by locking in Derek Wolfe to a four-year pact worth $36.7 million with $17.5 million in guarantees.
All things considered, Howard likely looks for a deal somewhere around four years and $15 million in guarantees with the total contract being worth $32-36 million. Howard odes not have the track record of either of the aforementioned players, which is why the total salary is a bit lower.
Yet, here’s the problem. Kansas City not only has a litany of free agents to sign, but Howard can’t be getting paid more than Allen Bailey, at least not significantly. Bailey signed last year for four years and $25 million, with 60 percent of the contract guaranteed. General manager John Dorsey can’t make some crazy offer to keep Howard because it will not only hurt the chances of keeping Dontari Poe after next season, but also enrage Bailey.
Kansas City should offer Howard the four years at nothing more than $28 million with the same $15 million guaranteed. Maybe Dorsey gets cute and throws in some escalators and incentives that make the total value worth $30-32 million if Howard plays lights out. This way, the numbers are inflated and Howard’s representation looks good.
It will be fascinating to see how this all plays out.