A Miami Herald report says wide receiver Albert Wilson is prime for a restructured contract or release. A reunion with the Chiefs at the right price would make sense.
It’s a bit ahead of schedule to think about the Kansas City Chiefs offseason, yet other teams have already been in planning mode for 2020 for quite some time. The Miami Dolphins have been focused on the future since the 2019 season began, as referenced by the early “Tank for Tua” slogan that emerged from South Florida, and one major decision facing the team is what to do with wide receiver Albert Wilson.
Wilson, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs, first signed with the Dolphins in the spring of 2018 when he netted a three-year, $24 million deal from Miami to give then-quarterback Ryan Tannehill a new batch of weapons. He was signed by now-unemployed executive Mike Tannenbaum for now-Jets head coach Adam Gase.
What happened in Miami?
The early returns were solid enough for the Dolphins, as Wilson put up 26 catches for 391 yards and 4 touchdowns through the first 7 games of the year, good for 15 yards/catch (and on track for 894 yards and 9 touchdowns) before a hip injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. What became clear at the beginning of this year is that Wilson wasn’t completely healthy, despite returning in time for Week 1. He averaged 2.5 catches and 15 yards per game (yes, the totals were that anemic) through Week 14.
At this point it would be easy for not only the Dolphins but anyone else to think that Wilson is a lost cause, and he wouldn’t be the first player who simply wasn’t the same post-injury. However, Wilson averaged 6 catches for 66 yards in the season’s final three games, suddenly coming alive down the stretch. Suddenly Wilson was relevant and effective, leading to questions as to just how healthy he was before then (and how much better he was feeling at season’s end).
For the Dolphins, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says Wilson is a contender for a contract restructure or release, but the signs all point to the exit for Wilson. Releasing him would create $9.5 million in cap space and only $1.3 million in dead money, a worthy tradeoff given his production, cost, and what the team already has at the position. Remember, Miami has DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, Allen Hurns, and Jakeem Grant under contract and a loaded draft class at the position to consider as well.
If Wilson does hit the free agent market, he has very little leverage with which to deal. He has the recent hip injury, a concussion, and lackluster production for a player whose best season with a career high of 554 receiving yards.
This is what makes a reunion with the Chiefs such an interesting proposition.
The Chiefs plan at WR?
Any perceived need at wide receiver is going to be a secondary or tertiary need for a team with Tyreek Hill locked up through 2022, Mecole Hardman signed through the same, and Travis Kelce under contract through 2021 (with a claim to want to finish his career in K.C.). That trio alone should provide the bulk of targets and production for the team’s passing game for the foreseeable future.
Chiefs fans have seen, however, the need for reliable hands outside of that trio against defenses that key in too much on shutting down particular players. Patrick Mahomes has elevated Demarcus Robinson and Sammy Watkins to nearly 200-yard games apiece this year alone, and especially in the postseason, Watkins has been a highly-productive option against top defenses—proving that a team can simply overwhelm another with quality options, if it has them.
Fast forward a couple months and it’s possible the Chiefs lose both of those aforementioned targets. Demarcus Robinson will be hitting the open market for his first big payday coming off of a Super Bowl team. His agent could easily spin the tale of an overlooked option, someone crowded out in K.C. with short bursts of what he can really do (see 172 receiving yards in Week 2 vs. Oakland). The bottom line is going to matter most to Robinson and it should. Players work their entire lives to hit unrestricted free agency.
Watkins is a remarkably expensive presence that has proven valuable at key moments, but for a guy with a bigger cap hit than Odell Beckham, Jr., DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones and Mike Evans, you’d expect a much bigger presence in terms of offensive focus and steady impact. Unless Watkins is willing to come off some money promised him, it’s possible the Chiefs take a hit and move on from the bulk of the financial commitment.
If so, that leaves the cupboard bare for the Chiefs .
But Wilson? Really?
I know the idea sounds a bit uninspired at first. An aging receiver coming off of injury and a castoff from Miami of all teams. However, remember this, the Chiefs could lose two guys and expectations for any import would be low.
Consider this: the glut of wide receivers in this draft is going to overwhelm the free agent market and force receivers to take worse deals. (In fact, this could work in the Chiefs favor in tough negotiations with Watkins, but that’s another story.) A team could tell a wide receiver, say Wilson, with so little leverage needing a place to prove himself, “Hey, take this or we’re moving on or we might as well just wait until the draft.”
Consider the following: any deal for Wilson is likely to be a one-year deal with little-to-no guarantees. The market for anything else makes zero sense (for the Chiefs). So the risk is going to be zero for Brett Veach as it is. The positive side is that Wilson will already be familiar with the bulk of the playbook, will be as ready-made to plug and play as any other outsider, and will come with a chip on his shoulder to rise above.
The Chiefs have already witnessed what Wilson can do with such motivation as he worked his way up the depth chart in K.C. as undrafted free agent. He outlasted others who came and went in his four-year stint in K.C. and earned more than 50 targets in each of his last three seasons, developing a nice chemistry with Alex Smith. Let’s also remember that Wilson had a 200-yard game in Week 17 back in Mahomes first game ever as a pro.
Signing Wilson wouldn’t preclude the Chiefs from drafting a guy at the right value or even investing in another free agent. But what it could do is provide a savvy veteran with something to prove who would likely sign an incentive-laden deal with no future commitment beyond 2020.
For Wilson, a homecoming with Andy Reid and a year with Patrick Mahomes could work wonders for rehabbing any tarnished reputation earned by the frustrating years in Miami. Together, it’s a win-win.