INDIANAPOLIS – At least the chief didn't wait until 11 hours to change the appearance of the free agency for the second year in a row.
A year after the Chiefs re-signed Chris Jones to a record deal the weekend before the free agency opened, they reportedly will franchise tag guard Tray Smith.
Smith and Bengals receiver Tee Higgins – another franchise tag candidate – would have been non-Quartarback free agents other than the top of the NFL if they reached the open market.
The Giants had a Greg Van Roten sized hole in their right guard, which could have been Smith's.
General Manager Joe Shane has shown he thinks he has four return starters, but Van Roten is a free agent added last July as a one-year stop.
No. 1 team was the Bears who Smith was considered a threat to Porch Smith, and its general manager (Ryan Paul) was part of the Chiefs front office when it was his sixth draft pick in 2021.
However, losing the top protector to Patrick Mahomes would not have been a good start to the offseason, as the Chiefs offensive line was fully manipulated in the Super Bowl 59.
The franchise tag should not complicate the extension as it amounts to a one-year, $23.4 million deal where Smith becomes the league's highest-paid security guard.
“We already had the first one [talks]General Manager Brett Vicci said earlier this week, “And I feel pretty optimistic about our potential there.”
The big winners besides the Chiefs and Smith are another top free agent guard who can now overpay at an inflated salary cap.
Matthew Stafford Buzz made another turn when the Las Vegas review journal wrote that the Raiders and Stafford had a “common foundation” in their contract numbers.
The Rams and Raiders must agree to trade compensation before being moved to a location that is not a very interesting giant.
The Cowboys highlight their first approach in a promotion from Brian Schottenheimer's offensive coordinator to head coach.
It could be a bit of a pain for some Jets and Seahawks fans.
Schottenheimer's play call was criticised in the 2010 AFC Championship game against the Steelers, the Jets' latest playoff game.
And before he was expelled in Seattle in 2020?
“I was troubled by letting Lass [Wilson] I'll go back a bit in Seattle and cook it,” Schottenheimer said. “No, at the end of the day, we have to be able to run football. We have made a promise to be great on both sides of the line of scrimmage.”
Michigan CB Wil Johnson could be an option for the No. 7 Jets.
The Detroit native is well versed in the work of new head coach Aaron Glen, a former Lions defensive coordinator, and a two-time All-Pro cornerback and a well-versed Detroit native of Source Gardner.
“I love Coach Glenn and what he did for Detroit,” Johnson said. “We talked about little balls. They seem to have a rather complicated scheme, but I want to play with it. Playing with sauce – the guy I grew up with – would be cool too.”
