Just when it seemed like the Chiefs might get shut out of the safety market on the first day of the NFLs negotiating period, an elite player appears to be on his way to Kansas City.
According to multiple reports, the Chiefs intend to sign safety Tyrann Mathieu to a three-year, $42 million deal, swiping him away from the Texans.
The deal cant become official until the new league year opens on Wednesday.
By adding Mathieu, the Chiefs create a formidable safety tandem between the 26-year-old and strong safety Eric Berry. Mathieu, who racked up 70 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions in his lone season with Houston, gives the Chiefs an elite defender in the middle of the field _ something the team lacked in the 2018 season.
Mathieu entered the league in 2013, when he was taken by the Cardinals in the third round of the NFL draft. He spent five seasons in Arizona and was named to the Pro Bowl and first-team All Pro for his breakout 2015 season. He started 14 that season games at free safety and recorded five interceptions and 89 tackles.
The Texans signed Mathieu to a one-year, $7 million deal before the 2018 season and made a strong push to keep him longer. The club offered him a long-term deal worth more than $9.5 million annually, per SIs Albert Breer.
Instead, Mathieu will earn an average of $14 million per year _ the same amount freed up by Justin Houstons release _ in Kansas City as a key piece of new coordinator Steve Spagnuolos defense.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs are down one starting offensive lineman.
Center Mitch Morse, who will officially become a free agent when the league year opens on Wednesday, intends to sign with Buffalo, ESPNs Adam Schefter reported.
With Morses departure, the Chiefs will likely turn to Austin Reiter as their starting center. Reiter started four games in the 2018 season when a concussion sidelined Morse for five games. Reiter, claimed off waivers from Cleveland in September, signed a two-year deal in December worth up to $5.5 million, with a $1 million signing bonus.
Morse, a 26-year-old Missouri product, was taken by the Chiefs in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. Morse started all 49 games in which he appeared during his four years in Kansas City. He only played seven games in 2017 as he battled an ongoing foot injury, and he finished that season on injured reserve.
Also Monday, according to multiple reports, former Chiefs backup quarterback Nick Foles is set to receive a four-year, $88-million contract from Jacksonville _ with $50.125 million guaranteed, per Adam Schefter. Foles had been in Philadelphia, where he helped the Eagles to their Super Bowl LII win.
