KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs and Creed Humphrey have agreed to a four-year, $72 million extension that makes him the highest-paid center in NFL history, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday night.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract had yet to be signed, said Humphrey will be guaranteed $50 million. Those numbers outpace both the total value of the five-year, $60 million deal the Saints signed with Erik McCoy and the $42 million in guarantees that Frank Ragnow got on his four-year, $54 million contract with the Lions.
“We’ve had a lot of good dialogue and I’m pretty sure we will put pen to paper soon,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said Thursday night during a preseason game against Chicago. “Needless to say, we’re extremely excited to continue Creed’s career here. He’s been great for our organization, and look, we have been very fortunate to have a really a good group of young guys and hopefully, we are able to get a little bit more work done with some of these other young guys as well.”
Humphrey was picked by the Chiefs in the second round of the 2021 draft and instantly moved into the starting lineup, where he not only solidified the interior of a rebuilt offensive line but developed a fast rapport with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
He also has proven to be dependable, starting all 51 regular-season games over the past three seasons. The last two have ended with Humphrey earning trips to the Pro Bowl, which he skipped while helping the Chiefs win back-to-back Super Bowls.
The Chiefs were staring at the prospect of three key contributors from their 2021 draft class hitting free agency in Humphrey, fellow second-round pick Nick Bolton and sixth-round pick Trey Smith. They have expressed interest in signing Bolton, one of the league’s underrated linebackers, to a long-term deal, but keeping all three could be difficult given their salary cap space.
Humphrey and most of the Chiefs’ starters were sitting out their preseason finale against the Bears. They open the regular season against the Ravens on Sept. 5 in a rematch of the AFC championship game.
Bears defender injured in exhibition at KC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bears cornerback Douglas Coleman III was immobilized on a stretcher and taken from Arrowhead Stadium in an ambulance on Thursday night after tackling the Chiefs’ Cornell Powell on the first play of the second half of their preseason game.
The 26-year-old Coleman had his head up as he came darting in to make the tackle near the Chiefs sideline, but his neck bent awkwardly to the side and the former CFL standout went down on impact. Coleman lay motionless as trainers from both teams rushed onto the field to check on him, and they were soon joined by doctors as a medical cart also drove onto the field.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus came over and saw Coleman moving his extremities as the medical staff removed his facemask and strapped him to a backboard. He was then loaded onto the cart and driven up the tunnel in the corner of the stadium.
“When I was on the field, over there on the Chiefs sideline, he was moving his limbs and gave us a thumbs-up,” Eberflus said, “so that was good to see. I don’t have anything more. He’s at the hospital right now being evaluated.”
The Bears went on to win their preseason finale, 34-21.
Coleman played college football at Texas Tech, where in 2016 he was a freshman and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was a junior poised to become a first-round NFL draft pick. Coleman moved to safety as a senior and was an All-Big 12 selection.
Coleman went undrafted in 2020 but signed with the Broncos as a free agent, spending time on their practice squad. He spent the past three years with the Ottawa Redblacks, switching between safety and linebacker, and appeared in 17 games last season with 60 tackles, four sacks, three interceptions and both interception and fumble returns for touchdowns.
