Justin Houston may hold out until Week 10 to sign franchise tender with Chiefs

By Vinnie Criscenzo | Mar 2, 2015

Oct 26, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston (50) celebrates after sacking St. Louis Rams quarterback Austin Davis (9) (not pictured) during the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 34-7. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Kansas City Chiefs have opted to use their franchise tag on linebacker Justin Houston, but Houston may wait until week 10 to sign it.

With the deadline coming for players to designate their franchise tags, the Kansas City Chiefs have used theirs on Pro Bowl linebacker Justin Houston. Houston will be in line to earn approximately $13 million under the franchise tag, which is the average of the top five salaries at the linebacker position in the NFL.

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However, Houston has been given the non-exclusive tag, which he is not expected to sign.

The non-exclusive tag will still give Houston approximately a $13 million salary, but it gives other teams a chance to still send offers to Houston that the Chiefs would have to match. If the Chiefs decide not to match the offer, they will receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.

However, this hardly ever happens, as not many teams are willing to give up two-first round picks for a free agent.

If Houston were to sign the tag, he would be obligated to report for training camp and preseason as he would be under contract. However, it is being reported that Houston is considering possibly holding out until Week 10 to see if he can possibly get a long-term deal before then.

Per league source, Justin Houston already is considering waiting until Week 10 to sign franchise tender to stay with Chiefs.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 2, 2015

Houston would be able to hold out until Week 10 to finally sign his franchise tender and still obtain an accrued season toward free agency.

Earning an accrued year would allow the Chiefs the option of tagging Houston again next season for 120 percent of his 2015 salary, but they would not be able to use the tag on him again in 2015.

Houston and the Chiefs have until July 15 to possibly come to terms on a long-term deal.

The Chiefs would love to lock up Houston long-term, the problem is that they are completely strapped against the cap. They currently only have approximately $6.5 million in cap space at the moment. They will need to cut another $6.5 million just to accommodate Houston’s franchise tag.

Tagging Houston buys the Chiefs some more time to figure out a long-term solution for Houston. Houston would much rather sign a long-term deal than play under the franchise tag, as is evident as he is possibly willing to hold out the majority of the season to get a long-term deal done.

The Chiefs would like to get this matter settled as soon as possible though, so they can start focusing on other areas they need to address to get ready for the 2015 season.

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