Chiefs move closer to franchise tag with OLB Justin Houston
By Will Osgood
The Chiefs are likely to slap the franchise tag on All-Pro outside linebacker Justin Houston
The Kansas City Chiefs and All-Pro outside linebacker Justin Houston are unlikely to come to a long-term contract agreement before March 2–the deadline for teams to apply the franchise tag to one of their own players.
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As a result, the Chiefs’ likely move is to slap the “exclusive rights franchise tag” on Houston. With such a move, the Chiefs would virtually guarantee that they retain the rights to Houston for the 2015 NFL season.
It would cost Kansas City roughly $13 million–the mean salary of the top-five at the outside linebacker position.
Considering that Houston led the NFL in sacks in 2014 with 22.0, the price is likely worth it. At just 26 years of age, Houston likely has another contract worth of dominant play in him. For that reason, the Chiefs would love to sign him this year in order to lock him up and guarantee he spends all of his prime in Kansas City.
But Houston and his representatives balked at Kansas City’s long-term offer during the season, and he is the rare player willing to move forward as a franchise player (reportedly).
Houston was drafted in the third round, 70th overall, in the 2011 NFL draft, despite a rather dominant career as a pass rusher at the University of Georgia, where he also played as an “edge” defender, or outside linebacker, in a 3-4 defense.
Some analysts then saw Houston as a rare talent and projected him as a top half of the first round prospect. The NFL as a whole disagreed. But now half, if not more, of the league would absolutely be clamoring to sign him, should he become available as a free agent.
His long-term contract prospects are somewhat dependent on what happens to Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh this offseason, but are also aided by the recent handsome rewards that Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and Tampa Bay Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy have seen from their respective franchises.
Houston belongs among that group of defensive players, given that he has 48.5 sacks in his first four years in the NFL, and only 5.5 came in his rookie season–a year of adjustment for Houston to the speed of the NFL game. In other words, Houston has 43.0 sacks in three seasons.
That is otherworldly. Houston deserves whatever salary he gets.
Of course, the franchise tag could also be used by Kansas City as a way to gain two first-round picks if they would rather have those, but teams are unlikely to trade away two first-round picks and sign Houston to the likely $100 million contract he will command.
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