Report: Jeremy Maclin planning to sign with Chiefs
By Evan Massey
Philadelphia Eagles star impending free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is planning to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs when free agency opens up on Tuesday.
Jeremy Maclin is one of the top-ranked free agents this offseason after busting out for a huge 2014 season with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he is prepared to leave town. According to a report from Chris Mortensen, the Chiefs are expected to sign Maclin when free agency opens up on Tuesday. Dwayne Bowe is also likely to be released to make room for him.
The Eagles' wild ride will continue: Jeremy Maclin plans to reunite with Andy Reid in Kansas City once free agent market opens Tuesday.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) March 9, 2015
The Chiefs will have to clear salary cap space to get the deal done with Maclin. Most logical savings would be with Dwayne Bowe's contract.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) March 9, 2015
It would be a huge pickup for the Chiefs, who had major issues at the wide receiver position last season. Maclin was a huge threat for the Eagles last season, and is a fairly complete all-around receiver. Kansas City would take a major step forward offensively by swapping out Bowe for Maclin.
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During the 2014 season with Philadelphia, Maclin ended up catching 85 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns.
At 26 years of age, Maclin has a lot of great football left in his career. Kansas City would be getting him in his prime, fully healthy, and with the mindset to prove himself worth of the big deal that he will be getting. There are some skeptics that believe his big season last year was a fluke, but he is ready to prove all of his critics wrong.
Maclin would be reuniting with Reid, who actually traded up to draft him originally with the Eagles. Andrew Brandt made the comment that Maclin likes being an Eagle, but that won’t stop him from leaving for his former coach.
Maclin is an interesting one: Andy Reid traded up to draft him and badly needs a WR, but know he likes being an Eagle.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) March 9, 2015
Needless to say, this is a big move for the Chiefs and will hopefully help fix some of their offensive issues. He is a big-play threat and is capable of making plays in the open field.
Kansas City will likely need to sign or draft one more wide receiver to make sure that the issues are fixed from last year. Bowe was unable to make too much of an impact, while the Chiefs didn’t have many other options to help him out. Maclin is a much better all-around target that Bowe has been since the 2011 season.
All of that being said, this is a very big pickup for the Chiefs and the fan base should be very excited. Maclin is going to have a huge role in 2015 assuming this contract does get signed, and Alex Smith will have an extremely dangerous weapon to target.
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