Chiefs maintain ‘solid dialogue’ with pending free agent Jaye Howard

The Kansas City Chiefs began contract talks with defensive lineman Jaye Howard in November, and it appears those talks have not stalled, as the team has maintained “solid dialogue” with him, a source told The Star.

The source added that Howard’s future with the club remains a “fluid” situation.

Howard, who is listed at 6-foot-3, bulked up to 320 pounds last offseason and proceeded to have a breakout season in a contract year for the Chiefs in 2015, as he posted career highs in tackles (57) and sacks (5 1/2) and 16 games (13 starts). He was the Chiefs’ highest-rated interior defensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus, and he played the second-most snaps with 843 — second only to Dontari Poe, who played 867.

Howard, 27, was a fourth-round pick out of Florida by the Seahawks in 2012. He was waived before the 2013 season and claimed by the Chiefs. He became a part-time starter in 2014, when he recorded 36 tackles and one sack in 16 games (10 starts) as the replacement for starting defensive end Mike DeVito, who was lost for the year in the season opener.

Howard broke out this season, putting the club in a bit of a quandary. According to former agent and salary-cap expert Joel Corry, the Chiefs probably don’t have enough salary-cap room to take care of Howard and Dontari Poe, who will be a free agent after 2016. The Chiefs already handed defensive end Allen Bailey a four-year, $24 million extension in fall 2014, and most teams can’t afford three well-paid interior linemen.

“You either have to be resigned to the fact you’re going to lose Dontari Poe — who is going to be very expensive — or you could try to get cute,” Corry said.

Corry said the top free-agent interior defensive lineman last year was Dan Williams, who got $25 million over four years from Oakland. Corry said the cost to put the franchise tag on Howard will approach $13 million, which isn’t reasonable. But the transition tender is a little more palatable; it was $9.3 million a year ago.

A transition tag would allow Howard to negotiate a contract with any club and give the Chiefs the chance to match. Howard could test his worth on the market, maximize his value and give the Chiefs an outside chance at keeping a very strong interior defensive line together.

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 7:48 PM with the headline "Chiefs maintain ‘solid dialogue’ with pending free agent Jaye Howard."