Kansas City Chiefs pass rusher Frank Clark was officially charged with a felony due to possession of an assault weapon on Friday according to TMZ.
For the sake of clarification, K.C. Star reporter Herbie Teope notes this charge comes from an incident from March and not the most recent arrest in June, both for the same charge. Just last month, Clark was caught in California with an Uzi in his Lambo SUV.
It is reported that he will be facing up to three years in prison due to these charges which is not looking good for the Chiefs defense.
With the history of Clark, and the matter of this being his second occurrence as well, he is going to be taking the charge from his first arrest. The Chiefs will be looking to do what they can, but with this being in the hands of the law, things are not looking good.
What we know:
Clark was pulled over in late June for a reason that still hasn’t been released to the public, but after being pulled over the cop in L.A., he noticed an Uzi sticking out of his duffle bag. Given Clark’s history, it was immediately a bad sign for Chiefs fans, but after hearing he will be charged with possession of an illegal firearm, Clark could face real jail time, depending on how things plead out.
Looking forward into the Chiefs and how things will play out for them, the Personal Conduct Policy gives the NFL commissioner the ability to put Clark on the Commissioner Exempt list. However, if the case is not solved before the 2021 season, the Chiefs are to pay out the $18.5 million that he is owed regardless if he is playing or not.
After the 2020 season, Clark’s contract became guaranteed to ensure pay even with injury, skill, and/or cap. The Chiefs could look at a work around that will allow them to cut Clark without having to pay out the $18.5 million that he is owed.
What we don’t know:
The circumstances of his arrest, and how likely he is to face the maximum years of the charge, is still unknown to the public. However, the biggest question unanswered right now is rather or not he will plead guilty in which it becomes a matter of the commissioner and his decision to place him on paid leave.
There are still so many details surrounding both events that remain out of the public sphere that it’s impossible to state with any certainty what could happen to Clark, both in terms of the legal system and in terms of what this means for his availability to play for the Chiefs in 2021 and beyond. Expect further information to come forth and for the team to likely display patience in the interim.