The NFL is punishing the Kansas City Chiefs for allegedly tampering with then-Philadelphia Eagles free agent Jeremy Maclin during the 2015 negotiating period. The rules for the negotiating period allow teams to talk to player's agents, however they cannot speak directly to the player in question.
Jeremy Maclin, one of the top free agents in 2015, ultimately decided to leave the Eagles as Chip Kelly began to assume control over the entire roster. Maclin was reportedly contacted directly by individuals in the Chiefs organization which, of course, violates NFL rules.
The Chiefs have been stripped of their 3rd round pick in 2016 and of their 6th round pick in 2017. The franchise will be fined $250,000, Andy Reid will be fined $75,000, and General Manager John Dorsey $25,000. The NFL thought these penalties were fair for the Chiefs since they are first time offenders. The more curious issue with this is the timing considering it has been a year since the incident occurred.
Kansas City will appeal the ruling and it will be interesting to see how the NFL handles this going forward. The Chiefs are looking to reload after a solid playoff run.
The Chiefs have been relatively quiet in free agency besides tagging Eric Berry and re-signing Tamba Hali. The Chiefs still have some big free agents on the open market and are making a play to retain as many of them as they can. Kansas City still needs to reach deals with cornerback Marcus Cooper, defensive tackle Jaye Howard, free safety Husain Abdullah, inside linebacker Derrick Johnson, and their big free agent corner Sean Smith.
Smith looks likely to head to either the San Francisco 49ers or the Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs have around $18 million in remaining cap space so they will likely use the rest of that money to resign Johnson and their other free agents.
Losing a 3rd round draft pick hurts especially if you consider how late the Chiefs will select thanks to how well they played during the 2015 NFL season. The Chiefs have the 28th overall pick in the draft and will need to land impact players in either the first or second round.
