The latest
2. Kansas City Chiefs
Top free agents: Chris Jones (IDL), L’Jarius Sneed (CB), Michael Danna (EDGE), Drue Tranquill (LB), Donovan Smith (LT), Willie Gay Jr. (LB), Tommy Townsend (P), Nick Allegretti (C)
The Chiefs have arguably the best interior pass rusher and cornerback on the market in Jones and Sneed. Jones wants to return to Kansas City after having the franchise tag placed upon him last year, and Sneed is set to receive the same fate. Teams can have Sneed via trade, but the Chiefs aren’t just going to let their top cornerback walk.
Danna, Tranquill, and Gay will be coveted assets for teams looking to improve their defense in free agency, while Allegretti should be a target for teams looking for a starting guard. The Chiefs have plenty of players that can make an immediate impact for a team in 2024.
Ranking Best Fits for Top Defensive Players in 2024 NFL Free Agency Class | Bleacher Report
Chris Jones, DL, Kansas City Chiefs
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones is the top impending free agent at any position. He’s a legitimate game-changer who can rush the passer, smother the run and do it from either the end position or at defensive tackle.
Jones finished the 2023 season with 10.5 sacks and 3 pressures while earning first-team All-Pro honors for the second straight year. Understandably, Kansas City is still working on a way to retain him.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Nate Taylor, there is “growing optimism” that Kansas City and Jones will reach an agreement before free agency.
Realistically, Jones isn’t going to find a better fit than the one he currently has. The Chiefs are perennial contenders, and the 29-year-old is the centerpiece of their defense. Jones is a star in Kansas City, and he’s one of the catalysts of the franchise’s ongoing dynasty.
If, however, the Chiefs cannot offer Jones a fair-market deal, he should have no trouble landing with another playoff-caliber team.
The Browns would make plenty of sense, schematically, as Jones would be a terror lined up next to Myles Garrett and Dalvin Tomlinson in Jim Schwartz’s aggressive scheme. Cleveland had a stout defensive front in 2023, but Shelby Harris, Maurice Hurst II and Jordan Elliott are all slated to be free agents.
The Texans are a team on the rise with a defensive-minded coach and some potential needs along the defensive line. Greenard and fellow defensive ends Derek Barnett and Jerry Hughes are set to be free agents, along with defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.
Houston isn’t currently the perennial Super Bowl contender Kansas City is. However, the Texans showed enough promise under Ryans and with rookie QB C.J. Stroud that Jones might have an opportunity to help jump-start a new dynasty in Houston.
NFL Scouting Combine: One thing we learned about all 32 teams in Indy | The Athletic
Kansas City Chiefs
As expected, the Chiefs have put a significant amount of effort into learning as much as they can about the second-tier of receiver prospects. Coach Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach are hopeful that this year’s deep class of receivers will allow the team to have an opportunity to acquire another one for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, perhaps with the final pick in the draft’s first round. The Chiefs interviewed several receivers during the combine, the most notable prospects being Brian Thomas Jr. (LSU), Troy Franklin (Oregon) and Xavier Worthy (Texas). — Nate Taylor
2024 NFL Mock Draft: Latest Predictions After This Year’s Combine | The 33rd Team
ADONAI MITCHELL, WR, TEXAS
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 205 pounds
Class: Junior
Fit: Adonai Mitchell is exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs need in their offense, and he would pair well with Rashee Rice. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him go much higher than this in the NFL Draft after running a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
Travis, Jason Kelce to be honored with Cavs bobblehead giveaway | ESPN
Taylor Swift’s boyfriend has taken shaking it off to another level.
Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who began dating the pop music superstar during this past season, will be honored Tuesday night with a bobblehead giveaway when the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Boston Celtics.
The collectible is a tiny version of Kelce and his older brother, Jason, who officially retired from the Philadelphia Eagles after 13 seasons on Monday. The brothers are Cleveland natives and have long supported their hometown Cavs, who are in turn, paying tribute to the local football stars.
The miniature Kelces are decked out in blue Cavs jerseys – Travis in his familiar No. 87, Jason in No. 62.
2024 NFL free agency: Best wide receivers, defensive backs | ESPN
Tier 4: Borderline starters/high-end backups
Free agents: Odell Beckham Jr., Ravens; Tyler Boyd, Bengals; Gabe Davis, Bills; Darnell Mooney, Bears; Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chiefs
Possible cap casualties: Michael Gallup, Cowboys; Allen Lazard, Jets; Michael Thomas, Saints
Beckham’s one-year deal with the Ravens ended up producing a different sort of season than what we’ve seen from the former Giants standout in previous years. He averaged a career-high 16.1 yards per reception, but Baltimore cut back heavily on his usage. He played just about every snap in Week 1 and during the first half of Week 2, then missed all of the second half and the next two games with an ankle injury. From that point forward, the Ravens played him on about 45% of the offensive snaps. I’m not sure he’s more than a rotational player at this point.
2024 NFL mock draft: Six QBs taken in first round after combine | USA Today
32: Kansas City Chiefs: WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
Why not give the champs the fastest player in combine history? His 4.21 speed would fill a need for a team set to lose deep threats Mecole Hardman and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. But don’t short Worthy’s chops as a receiver after he averaged 66 catches and better than 900 yards during three seasons with the Longhorns. He’ll probably need to add to a 5-11, 165-pound build.
Around the NFL
Report: Four teams on the radar for a Justin Fields trade | Windy City Gridiron
He’s reporting that the sources he spoke with tell him that a day two draft pick could be in play if they trade Justin Fields and that the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders, and NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings are all on the “radar.”
There’s been plenty of Fields to Atlanta buzz over the weekend, but Graziano said multiple sources tell him that the Falcons’ top choice at quarterback is Vikings free agent Kirk Cousins.
Broncos inform quarterback Russell Wilson he will be released | NFL.com
As a result of parting ways with the highly paid signal-caller, Denver will eat $39 million but avoid a $37 million guaranteed trigger for the 2025 season that would have taken effect this month. Still, the Broncos will take on $85 million in total dead salary cap over the next two years by releasing Wilson, which will be the largest dead cap hit in NFL history.
The writing was on the wall for Wilson despite his recent protestations; just last week, he said on the I Am Athlete podcast that he hoped his future was in Denver.
Dolphins will not franchise tag DT Christian Wilkins | NFL.com
The Dolphins will not be using the franchise tag on the defensive tackle, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday, per sources. The deadline for teams to use their tags is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
NFL clubs are permitted to contact and enter contract negotiations with free agents on March 11. Wilkins would officially become a free agent when the new league year begins on March 13.
Wilkins is poised to land a sizeable contract coming off his best statistical season in 2023. The 28-year-old produced career highs in sacks (9.0), QB pressures (61) and QB hits (23) during his fifth season, adding 65 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Mike Evans contract: Buccaneers re-sign star WR before NFL free agency | USA Today
The wide receiver and the Buccaneers agreed to a two-year deal a week before he was set to officially become a free agent. His agent told ESPN the deal is worth $52 million and includes $35 million guaranteed.
Last week, The Athletic reported Evans was set on testing the open market of free agency. He could have started legally speaking with other teams next Monday and would have officially become a free agent Wednesday, March 13, the official start of the new league year. The deadline for Tampa Bay to potentially place the franchise tag on Evans would have been Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs Roster: How the team should handle their defensive ends in 2024
Free agent options
If Danna needs to be replaced, the Chiefs have some free-agent options.
Yannick Ngakoue, 29, Chicago Bears
Derek Barnett, 26, Houston Texans
Carl Lawson, 29, New York Jets
A.J. Epenesa, 26, Buffalo Bills
Darrell Taylor, 27, Seattle Seahawks
The veterans on this list would be on one-year deals trying to win a ring. While Ngakoue is limited to being a situational pass rusher, he’s still good at it, having 34 pressures and an 8.5% pressure rate last year. Lawson had a tough 2023 season, appearing in just six games and collecting only two pressures. But in 2022, he played a full season in which he registered 49 pressures, eight sacks and an 11.4% pressure rate. When healthy, Lawson is still a good player — and he’s only 29.
Social media to make you think
Merriman not only saying that the Chargers will sweep us next year, but that we weren’t good enough to be in the Super Bowl?
Welcome to the annual tradition of the Chargers being picked first place in the AFC West pic.twitter.com/gz3zGn0Gzl
— Obi-Wan Mahomie (@bnice19831) March 1, 2024
Guys guys guys. To be fair to Mr. Merriman, he is very qualified and has the experience to talk about not being in Super Bowls.
Give him a break.— Eric Stonestreet (@ericstonestreet) March 1, 2024