NFL - Sports Rumors - Kansas City Chiefs

The trade that sent Jared Allen from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Minnesota Vikings ended a period of bitterness that was apparent on both sides of the negotiating table. Yes, Allen felt bitter, he felt betrayed by the organization when the Chiefs did not even try to sign him to a long-term deal last year, when Chiefs president Carl Peterson called him a "young man at risk."

On the other hand, the Chiefs felt bitter, too. They felt as if they had taken a chance on Allen in the fourth round when there were some character questions; they steered him through some rough times that included two DUIs; they stuck with him and helped him become an NFL star. It's fair to guess that the Chiefs felt as if Allen should have understood why they wanted to wait and see before offering him a long-term deal.

More than that, though, the Chiefs also bluntly felt as if Allen, while a good player, was not indispensable. When I asked one Chiefs official how the Chiefs possibly could get better without the NFL's sack leader, he asked back: "How many of those sacks were in the fourth quarter?" The correct answer to that is zero. When asked what this was supposed to mean - after all, the Chiefs were trailing an awful lot in the fourth quarter, and sack opportunities were rare, the official shrugged and said, "I'm just saying. Zero."

Source: Kansas City Star

• 106 Comments
• Permanent Link
• Email this Entry

Getty Images

Ever since negotiations for a long-term contract broke off last year, Jared Allen's departure from the Kansas City Chiefs carried a sense of inevitability.It happened Tuesday night when the Chiefs agreed to trade their Pro Bowl defensive end to the Minnesota Vikings, a source told the Kansas City Star.

Allen went to Minnesota on Tuesday night to sign one of the largest contracts ever for a defensive player — six years for just less than $74 million with more than $31 million guaranteed.

The Chiefs are expected to receive Minnesota's first-round pick (No. 17) and both the Vikings' third-round picks (73rd and 82nd). It would give the Chiefs six picks in the first 82 players in this weekend's draft and 13 total picks. The Chiefs also have one choice in the fourth and two each in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.

Source: Kansas City Star

• 76 Comments
• Permanent Link
• Email this Entry

Getty Images

Another day, another rumor about a prominent wide receiver the Philadelphia Eagles probably won't be able to trade for this spring. Tuesday the NFL Network's Adam Schefter reported that Anquan Boldin has asked the Arizona Cardinals for a trade. Boldin, 27, got to 300 catches faster than any receiver in NFL history. He has 413 catches in only 68 games since being drafted in the second round in 2003 (yes, the Eagles could have drafted him instead of Jerome McDougle).

Boldin is unhappy with his contract in the wake of the 4-year, $40 million renegotiation the Cards reached last month with wideout Larry Fitzgerald. Boldin has 3 years left on a deal that averages around $4.5 million a year. But the Arizona Republic reports that the Cards told Boldin they will not trade him, which puts him in the same category as the other receivers Eagles fans would like to see the team acquire — Detroit's Roy Williams and Cincinnati's Chad Johnson. (And, of course, Fitzgerald, who earlier this offseason supposedly was going to be dealt because of his ruinous cap number, until Arizona just redid the contract.)

Obviously, the Eagles remain likely to send disgruntled corner Lito Sheppard somewhere this week, for something. There were multiple reports yesterday (in the wake of a Delaware County Daily Times report) that they had asked the Kansas City Chiefs about defensive end Jared Allen, who apparently will be dealt instead of playing under the franchise tender. The Chiefs probably could use Sheppard, though they play a Cover 2 defense in which corners are at least a little less important than they are in the Eagles' system. A source close to the situation said Allen won't be coming to the Eagles.

Source: Philadelphia Daily News

• 39 Comments
• Permanent Link
• Email this Entry

Getty Images

The Philadelphia Eagles are among a handful of teams that inquired about securing defensive end Jared Allen, who led the NFL with 15½ sacks last year. For now, the Kansas City Chiefs want choice draft picks, not a combination of players and picks for Allen, whom the club designated as its franchise player.

The Eagles discussed shipping cornerback Lito Sheppard and picks to the Chiefs, but not their first-round pick, according to a source. Sheppard's recent history of nagging injuries didn't win the Eagles any points, either.

Allen (6-6, 270) is being heavily pursued by the Minnesota Vikings, and to a lesser degree the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's unclear whether the Eagles would meet the contract demands of Allen, who quietly wants a pact with $30 million guaranteed.

Source: Delco Times

• 78 Comments
• Permanent Link
• Email this Entry

Getty Images

Defensive end Jared Allen left Minnesota on Sunday without agreeing on a contract with the Vikings according to the Kansas City Star.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings also had not agreed to terms of a trade that would send the discontented Allen to Minnesota in return for draft picks. The trade terms appear to be the bigger impediment. An NFL source indicated that Allen and the Vikings were close enough to an agreement that one could likely be hammered out if the two teams agree on the draft-pick compensation.

Allen could make a visit this week to see the Buccaneers in Tampa.

Source: Kansas City Star

• 62 Comments
• Permanent Link
• Email this Entry

Getty Images

The Minnesota Vikings had Jared Allen right where they wanted him Friday. The Pro Bowl defensive end spent much of his day receiving first-class treatment and visiting with team officials according to the Star-Tribune.

But owner Zygi Wilf attempted to downplay talk the Vikings were on the verge of working out a trade with Kansas City or a multiyear contract for Allen with agent, Ken Harris, who also was in town. Both of those things would have to happen for Allen, designated by the Kansas City Chiefs as their franchise player, to end up in Minnesota.

"It's a multi-front type of [deal]," Wilf said. "You have to deal with Kansas City, you have to deal with Jared. It's a whole aspect, and you have to weigh that with what's best for the club. That's ultimately what's most important. What would be the best for this club and how we can get to the next level?"

Source: Star-Tribune

• 58 Comments
• Permanent Link
• Email this Entry

Getty Iamges

People around the league say the Kansas City Chiefs are shopping defensive end Jared Allen, the league's sack leader last season according to the Washington Post.

The Chiefs placed their franchise player tag on Allen in February but that doesn't mean they can't trade him. The Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are said to be in pursuit.

Source: Washington Post

• 103 Comments
• Permanent Link
• Email this Entry