The Kansas City Chiefs and outside linebacker are in no hurry to agree on a new deal.
Justin Houston is arguably the second-best pass rusher in the NFL, after the super freak, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. And he deserves to be paid like it. At least that’s the stance he and his representatives are naturally taking.
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His only NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs, were of course not going to simply lose the second-best pass rusher in the game without trying to work something out, and so they placed on him the non-exclusive franchise tag earlier this offseason.
The result is that Houston could be poked from Kansas City’s possession if a team were to give the Chiefs two of their first round picks. Doing so would be quite unusual, as most teams consider first round picks about as valuable as gold.
Interestingly, though, just this week tight end Jimmy Graham netted the New Orleans Saints a first-round draft pick (and a Pro Bowl center in Max Unger).
Interesting it is, as the event that seemed to bring the relationship between Graham and the Saints to a point where a trade was necessary was Graham’s experiences in the 2014 offseason when they franchised him as a tight end and not a wide receiver.
It finally led to a ruling in favor of the Saints and a last-minute summer agreement between the two parties to a four-year, $40 million deal–which seemed shockingly low at the time. But it was the fracture of the back and forth and felt disrespect from the team towards Graham.
That is what the Chiefs must avoid in their future negotiations with Houston.
But general manager John Dorsey admits talks have been slow and few and far between, “Well, I think the last time I talked to his representatives were about a week ago.”
Note that it hasn’t been very long since the Chiefs slapped Houston with the tag. But Dorsey defended himself and the process, “It’s an ongoing process, it doesn’t happen overnight. These things with players of this magnitude, it’s going to take awhile.”
At least Dorsey recognized Houston is a great player. He is not downplaying that, but the Chiefs of course want to receive some value from the deal on their end.
There is potential good news for both sides. Houston can “actively solicit” offers from other franchises to acquire him and/or can sit out until Week 10, still get paid his franchise tag salary (on a prorated game-by-game salary) and have it count as a year played for contract and retirement considerations.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, have until the middle of July to agree with Houston on a long-term deal. Best-case scenario for all, as can be ascertained from the Saints-Graham debacle is to be patient, not allow feelings to be hurt and get a deal done.
Houston, at age 26, has 48.5 career sacks in four seasons, including 22 last year. The 2011 third-round pick is a three-time Pro Bowler for the Chiefs.
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