The Chiefs and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin reportedly agreed to terms on a contract before the official start of free agency on Tuesday, but Tuesday came and went without any official announcement.
We didn’t have to wait too much longer for everything to be signed and sealed, however. The Chiefs announced the deal, which Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports is a five-year pact with a total value of $55 million and $22.5 million guaranteed.
The $11 million per year average for the contract pushes Maclin into the top tier of wide receiver salaries a year after his first 1,000-yard season and two years after a torn ACL in the preseason kept him sidelined for the entire season. The Chiefs are obviously banking on Maclin’s reunion with his first pro head coach Andy Reid and a prominent place in their offense will lead to a repeat of the 2014 production, which was far better than any of their receivers could manage while failing to catch a touchdown.
The Chiefs are expected to part ways with wide receiver Dwayne Bowe to help create the cap space to fit Maclin onto the roster while giving the Chiefs a chance to make other moves this offseason.