The Kansas City Chiefs have reached terms on a restructured deal that keeps wide receiver Sammy Watkins on the roster in 2020.
If you had any questions about the band getting back together, Yahoo! Sports reporter Terez Paylor has word that the Kansas City Chiefs have reached terms on a new contract that brings Sammy Watkins back to the roster in 2020.
In recent weeks and months, the popular belief was that the team would be forced to trade or release Watkins due to the fact that he carried the greatest cap hit of any wide receiver in the NFL at $21 million. For a team already against the cap and on the hook for potential big-money extensions for defensive lineman Chris Jones and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the figure was far too big to swallow.
Per Paylor, the terms of the new deal creates $5 million in much needed cap space for the Chiefs:
The Chiefs have reached an agreement with Sammy Watkins on a new 1-year deal that will pay him a base of $9m for 2020 with an incentive package that can reach $16m, a source tells me.
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) April 3, 2020
The move creates $5m in cap space for the Chiefs to operate this offseason.
Im back KC LETS GET IT..! #RUNITBACKTOUR
— King me (@sammywatkins) April 3, 2020
Even as far back as last year, predictions about what the Chiefs would do with Watkins hung in the air, but the Chiefs maintained a public interest in having Watkins finish out his time with the Chiefs after initially signing a three-year, $48M deal back in 2017. In response to the drama, Watkins stated he also wanted to be in K.C. but he was hoping for some personal space this offseason to get away from things he could not control—namely, what the team would do with his contract.
Watkins has taken heat for missing games over time or lacking the overall statistics to justify his contract, but Watkins has been a monster for the Chiefs when it matters most—in the postseason. He’s also carried the offense at times when others weren’t available (see Week 1 when Tyreek Hill went down and he responded with 3 touchdowns and nearly 200 yards receiving).
Last year, Watkins had 52 catches for 673 yards and 3 touchdowns. In three postseason games, he had 14 receptions for 288 receiving yards and 1 touchdown.