Before Kenny Britt signed with the Patriots, both the Chiefs and Jaguars had interest in the veteran wide receiver, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Details Of Kenny Britt’s Patriots Contract]
Kansas City has been searching for a secondary wideout to step up ever since Chris Conley suffered a ruptured Achilles in mid-October. Both Demarcus Robinson and Albert Wilson have seen more playing time, but neither has been a focal point of the Chiefs’ offense. Of course, there are only so many balls to go around on a roster that includes Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Kareem Hunt, but Robinson and Wilson have managed only 25 combined receptions since Conley went down.
The Jaguars, meanwhile, have recently seen the emergence of Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole behind Marqise Lee, but they could have used another weapon for an offense which ranks 15th in passing DVOA. Jacksonville is currently without Allen Robinson (who tore his ACL in the first game of the season) and Allen Hurns, who’s been sidelined by an ankle injury since Week 10.
Both the Chiefs and Jaguars (and Patriots, for that matter) had the option of claiming Britt off waivers from the Browns, as every player — vested veterans included — must go through the waiver process once the NFL’s trade deadline passes. As Miguel Benzan of the Boston Sports Journal notes (Twitter link), Kansas City and New England are both tight on cap space, which could have made taking on the rest of Britt’s salary (roughly $940K) difficult.
Jacksonville, however, has more than $30MM in reserves, so it clearly could have claimed Britt’s cost without worrying about cap space. All of Britt’s guarantees will expire after the 2017 campaign, so the Jaguars could have released him before next season with no further cost. Instead, Jacksonville allowed Britt to pass through waivers and sign with a direct AFC competitor.