The Kansas City Chiefs are placing the franchise tag on outside linebacke

r Dee Ford after the best season of his career Womens Armani Watts Jersey , though that could be just the first step in their dealings with him.The decision was made on Saturday, a person familiar with it told The Associated Press, three days before the league’s deadline for franchising players. But the Chiefs have discussed signing Ford to a long-term deal, and they are open to trade possibilities as they switch their base defenses.The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because the move was not finalized as the paperwork awaited filing. ESPN.com was first to report the Chiefs had made the decision.The franchise tag for an outside linebacker next season is just over $15.4 million, a number the Chiefs could easily fit under the salary cap. But general manager Brett Veach has made it clear since taking over last year that he is open to making any moves that help the overall club.That could mean a long-term contract — the deadline for doing that with a franchise player is July 15 — or trading away one of the league’s top pass rushers.“He had an outstanding season. He was at the top of his game,” Veach said during his year-end discussion with reporters. “When we drafted Dee a few years ago, all those things that we envisioned for him, he kind of showed that he was that player.”But that also came in former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s scheme Dorian O'Daniel Jersey , which is built around a 3-4 base. The Chiefs fired Sutton after an AFC West-winning season culminated in an overtime loss to the Patriots, and hired Steve Spagnuolo to implement a 4-3 scheme.“The one thing he can do, and we all know this, he is an explosive football player that makes a lot of plays,” Spagnuolo said recently. “He’s had some production and if he is here with us, I’ll be excited to have him and be excited to work with him.”Ford was the Chiefs’ first-round pick in 2014 out of Auburn, but he struggled with injuries and the adjustment to the NFL his first couple seasons. He only played in six games with two sacks in 2017, but had a career-best 13 sacks and forced seven fumbles this past season.That performance made the franchise tag a palatable option.“Obviously http://www.chiefslockerroom.com/authentic-derrick-nnadi-jersey , Dee is a player that has done so much for us, in particular last year,” Veach said. “We have a special thing brewing here and I think everyone wants to keep this thing rolling.”The Chiefs also have a decision to make with fellow outside linebacker Justin Houston, who had nine sacks in 12 games last season. He carries a salary cap hit of $21.1 million, a number the Chiefs would like to drive down either by restructuring his deal or potentially releasing him.“I would say that he’s under contract for this year and next year,” Veach said at the NFL’s scouting combine this week. “Again, our plan is to play with him and we look forward to having him on our roster. There’s a lot of dialogue and I think everything is fluid for the next few weeks until we get into the start of the league year. We’ll kind of handle that — the information we get, what’s real Womens Kendall Fuller Jersey , what’s not real — and it’s a good problem to have because he’s a great player.” Last week, Kansas City G.M. Brett Veach hinted that the Chiefs would be proposing a significant change to the overtime rules, one that would have given the Chiefs an opportunity to possess the ball after New England scored a touchdown on the first drive of overtime in the AFC Championship. As it turns out, the Chiefs are proposing much more than that.The NFL has unveiled the rules changes proposed by the clubs, and the Chiefs have suggested three changes to overtime.First, both teams would have an opportunity to possess the ball at least once in overtime, even if the first team to possess the ball in overtime scores a touchdown.Second, overtime would be eliminated for the preseason.Third Anthony Hitchens Jersey , the overtime coin toss would be eliminated, and the team that wins the initial coin toss would have the option to kick or receive, or to select which goal to defend.The fact that the Chiefs have proposed these rule changes means that the Competition Committee has decided not to do so, which will make it harder as a practical matter to muster the 24 necessary votes from the 32 teams. But each of these changes make plenty of sense.The first proposal could lead to more regular-season ties, but it would definitely provide a more equitable approach to postseason overtime. Perhaps the better approach would be to keep the current rules in place for regular-season games, or perhaps revert to sudden death. For the postseason, it’s definitely more fair to give both teams a chance to possess the ball.The issue first emerged nine years ago, when a first-drive field goal gave the Saints a berth in the Super Bowl http://www.chiefslockerroom.com/authentic-chad-henne-jersey , over the Vikings. After adopting in March 2010 a rule that guarantees a possession for the team that kicked off to start overtime if the receiving team scores a field goal in postseason games, the league extended the rule in May of that year to the regular season.Super Bowl LI ended with the Patriots winning the coin toss to start overtime and scoring a first-drive touchdown. That didn’t prompt any push to change the rules, however. Two years later, New England’s ability to drive the length of the field and to score a touchdown while keeping the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes from getting a chance to match or beat the touchdown raised questions about the fairness of the approach.The questions emerged for good reasons; the current rule isn’t fair to the team that loses the toss of a coin. And those who would shout “play defense!” are essentially the same who consistently complain about rules changes that have made it easier for offenses to move the ball. Given that the playing field is indeed tilted toward the offense, a touchdown drive to open overtime shouldn’t end the game — especially in the playoffs.