Chiefs exercise team option on Damien Wilson’s contract

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Damien Wilson will be back with the team in 2020 after the franchise exercised their club option in his contract.

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to make news early on Monday morning with the report from Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star that they will exercise the team option on linebacker Damien Wilson’s contract.

The Chiefs first landed Wilson in free agency last season to a two-year, $5.75 million contract. This year, Wilson comes with a total cap hit of nearly $4 million as a Sam linebacker for the team.

Wilson started all 16 games for the Chiefs last year in the team’s first season under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Wilson’s addition was meant to help overhaul a linebacking corps that had played miserably one season before. He finished with 81 total tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 sack, 4 quarterback hits, and 3 more tackles for loss.

Wilson entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2015 from the University of Minnesota. From there, Wilson played four years as a valuable backup and spot starter for the Cowboys linebacking corps before joining the Chiefs. Wilson will turn 27 years old in May.

The Chiefs will now look to Wilson to improve even more after a year of experience in Spags’ system and should begin to add some new faces to the unit with the expectation that both Darron Lee and Reggie Ragland will depart in free agency.

For now the Chiefs have already exercised their option on running back Damien Williams and have placed the franchise tag on defensive lineman Chris Jones, making for a busy morning so far for Brett Veach.