Connected to high-profile safeties at last year’s trade deadline, the Chiefs are continuing their pursuit months later. They are close to a deal with Tyrann Mathieu, Terez Paylor of Yahoo.com tweets.
It looks like a contract will be agreed upon, and it is quite the deal. The Chiefs are signing Mathieu for three years and $42MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The average annual value would match that of Landon Collins‘ Redskins pact. The 26-year-old Mathieu profiled as the Chiefs’ top offseason target, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link), and the contract certainly reflects that.
Mathieu signed a one-year, $7MM deal with the Texans last season; he is on the verge of doubling that a year later, illustrating the safety market’s rapid resurgence.
The Texans have been discussing a contract with Mathieu for a while, but the sides have not come to terms. This is considerably north of the proposal the Texans reportedly made, with Houston’s offer being for $9.5MM per year.
This is interesting, given the Texans’ favorable amount of cap space when compared to the Chiefs’. But Kansas City has needs across its defense and will be allocating a considerable amount of money to a position that recently saw its value stagnate.
The Chiefs still have Eric Berry‘s $13MM-AAV contract on their books but have an opening opposite the All-Pro. Berry, 30, is not a reasonable cut candidate this year. It would cost the Chiefs more than $14MM in dead money to jettison the three-time All-Pro. But Kansas City is now heavily invested at a position that has seen its value reignite in a matter of hours.
With the Legion of Boom having disbanded, no team comes close to matching what Kansas City will have allotted to its safety position. But the Chiefs had considerable issues in pass coverage last season, including at pivotal points during their AFC championship game loss, and Mathieu helped rebuild his stock in 2018. The Chiefs were connected to Collins and the still-unattached Earl Thomas early last season but opted to stand pat. While they were agonizingly close to a Super Bowl without making a move, the team is addressing a need area now.
Coming off some disappointing seasons in Arizona, following the Cardinals signing Mathieu to a then-record safety deal (five years, $62.5MM), Mathieu made the most of his one-year Texans pact. He graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 21 safety last season.
It appears Houston will need to look for another safety. While the market still has some key players, two of the top targets are no longer available.
Don’t play with my heart Clark Hunt.
YES!
With 70+mil in cap room how the hell does Houston not make more of an effort?
I don’t think effort is why they didn’t pay him 14M a year…I wish he stayed but I dont think effort is the issue.
Maybe because they don’t have to face Antonio Brown twice.
So KC is gonna pay $30M plus to it’s starting safeties? Lmao – WOW
did you see our defense last year? may as well
This give the 49ers a better chance at Thomas
Or Dallas
So KC has a porous D last year, give up Justin Houston and are trying to trade Dee Ford but are going to pay their starting safeties $31M next year? You better have great safeties b/c the QB is gonna have a month to scan the field! Lots of 49-45 games in 2019!
The draft has a so many dends and pass rushers that they can get impact players in the draft. Basically by committee like the Pats do. It would cost them less to use rookies instead of using Dee and Justin at their price. Bit of an overpay for the honey badger… does he still go by that nickname
Its sad because the Cheifs actually had a fantastic defense at the start of the Andy Reid era. Now its a laughing stock.
I would guess we cut Berry now. Just my thought, not my preference.
I hope not
Mathieu tweeted that he was going for a ring, not for money… but…that’s a lot of friggen money hahaha
I would imagine a ring would mean more to a player if he earned it after several years of struggling with the same group of teammates.