NFL 2015: Updating the franchise tag players

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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 /

The Kansas City Chiefs have given plenty of contract extensions during the three-year tenure of general manager John Dorsey. Dorsey re-signed Jamaal Charles, Alex Smith, Anthony Sherman and Allen Bailey in 2014 before finding a way to retain safety Ron Parker and inside linebacker Josh Mauga on a pair of contracts totaling in excess of $38 million. However, Houston remains elusive.

Houston is coming off an incredible campaign where he set the single-season franchise sack record with 22 and was a half-sack away from the NFL mark held by Hall-of-Famer Michael Strahan. While nothing has publicly come from Houston of his agent, Joel Segal, about his wants contractually, it stands to reason he is looking at the contracts of J.J. Watt and Ndamukong Suh.

Last year, Watt inked a six-year, $100 million deal with $52 million in guarantees. The way the deal is structured makes it very likely that Watt will never see the final three years of the contract, which totals a robust $43 million in cap space. Suh was able to land a six-year, $114 million pact with the Miami Dolphins during free agency, with just shy of $60 million in guarantees. With this deal, Suh is likely to play out the first four years before the situation is revisited.

The most recent report we have on Houston comes from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk back in early June, saying the sides are talking but nothing was progressing quickly. Houston is currently scheduled to make $13.1 million on the tag. Dorsey could decide to tag Houston going into 2016 at approximately $15 million, with the Chiefs having the fourth-most cap space of any team in 2016.

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