Marcus Kemp is back with the Chiefs for another year
By Matt Conner
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marcus Kemp signed his tender which means he will return for another season with the team.
Wide receiver Marcus Kemp didn’t have many options as an exclusive rights free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs. Still he signed the tender offered to him by the team on Tuesday, which means the wideout will be back with the team for another year—should he make the final roster.
Kemp was categorized as an Exclusive Rights Free Agent, a bit of a misnomer since there’s really no level of free agency involved at all. At least a restricted free agent has the chance to negotiate with other clubs even if the primary team retains final say over any new deal. An ERFA cannot even do that.
Instead, as an ERFA, Kemp is forced under the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement to accept a single-year contract around the NFL minimum that is non-guaranteed. In short, Kemp remains on the Chiefs roster for no cost and can be tossed aside with no penalty. Kemp, in short, had no choice but to sign the contract if he wanted to continue playing professional football.
That’s not to say that Kemp is not happy to be with the Chiefs. It’s just that the entire category of ERFA is a bit silly.
Kemp has been a special teams performer for the Chiefs in his first two years in the league. Last season, he had 36 snaps on offense as a wide receiver and another 340 snaps on special teams. That’s a nice step up from a first season where he bounced between the active roster and the practice squad. Overall, Kemp is making a nice ascension from his days as a rookie free agent out of Hawaii hoping to find a home in the NFL.
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It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs give Kemp a chance to be a bigger part of the offense in 2019.