The Lions are not trading their 26 year old LT.

They’ll have their money they likely had slotted to pay them in the future. What they already paid is a sunk cost.

I’d imagine they have bookmarked funds for a T as it’s a pretty highly paid priority.

I’m not at all opposed to going young and developmental but if you could use 32 to fortify the spot at LT for a long time with a young proven vet I’d be interested for sure

I doubt it. But they just traded their franchise qb and the nfl is wild. Who knows.

If 32 and a 3rd from next year got you a LT of that caliber I’d be in

There is a big difference between a 33 year old QB and a 26 year old LT.

Would I do it? Yes. But I doubt it’s even a possibility.

If they wanna bottom out for a qb they should do it. I’ll call them about it

in what world? You likely have two players rehabbing from injury. You still have to pay them. Their cap hits are still there. There is no money that gets freed up.

It's also a premium position, and nobody is going to give up a good young LT for the #32 pick. Not when your first or second order of business is to acquire a legit LT in team building 101.

I guess you can cut them both and free up $25m or so with like $7 million in dead cap. By the way, we're estimated $18m over the 2021 cap at the moment.

There is no money to go get a legit starting LT in free agency.

Can you give a new contract to an injured player? Would they be able to sign Fisher to a small extension that keeps him around another year or two while he rehabs and lowers his cap hit this year?

They can, some they have given a void year to convert salary to bonus and spread it out over 2 years. A pure extension, I'm not sure I'd do it if I were the Chiefs, given the type of injury. They can even ask him to take a pure pay cut. Some players have in the past here.

I'd definitely be asking him to take a significant pay cut to keep him on the roster during rehab. Fisher doesn't have a ton of leverage there really because the Chiefs could say take a free couple million and stay on the roster or we can cut you and move on.

I suppose.

Do you really want to do that?

I honestly don't know.

He's not likely to play in '21.

He'll be what, 33 in '22? And don't forget, he has a gimpy back too, he played hurt about half the year.

I still think you guys are overlooking Martinas Rankin, who will start the Super Bowl at LT.

The Chiefs have one more year of cheap control and if he plays well tomorrow, I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s the 2021 starting left tackle, at least until Fisher is healthy.

Fisher turned 30 in January 2021.

Considering there are plenty of offensive lineman that play at a high level well into their 30’s, missing a year with an Achilles shouldn’t hamper his career moving forward.

If the Chiefs happen to move on from him, which I highly doubt at this point, he’ll have a bevy of suitors.

Remmers is going to Lt I think

Friend of a friend kinda thing, but he was planning on retiring after this current contract. Atleast that’s what this person was told. I’m not sure if he was serious about it but this person would know as well as anyone.

If that’s the case the chiefs will have to find something there long term

We said the same thing this time last year

Then Jones got paid and Mahomes and whoever. They’ll figure out the money

For a report that was posted last night....it’s Rankin at LT and Remmers at RT.

Interesting

It's what I've been saying since Fisher's injury nearly 2 weeks ago.

They don't need to move Remmers from Right to Left nor Wylie from inside to outside if they start Rankin at LT.

Rankin played well with 2nd and 3rd teamers against San Diego but if for some reason he struggles, Andy can always flip the line around but I'd be surprised if that happens because he's all about continuity.

Fisher isn’t done dude lmao. He just turned 30. Yeah he’s gonna miss time but this type of injury isn’t going to end his career.

The guy is an OT, not a WR. This isn’t DJ either. LB is a way different animal that requires extensive athleticism in space. Most of the time he’s blocking in a 10 yard radius. The guy was one of the most athletic OT’s before this. He isn’t just going to fall off a cliff.

Schwartz is likely done if not for some miracle. I’ve seen that we save $6 million alone from his release. Get Niang back, resign Remmers and keep bringing in more prospects like the Auburn kid.

We’ll be fine

A LT is on an island blocking the most physically gifted athletes in the world. And Achilles is probably the worst possible injury for a player these days. Once he’s recovered and ready to go, he’ll be 32 and needing a mew contract coming off injury.

He may very well come back and be fine. But I’d be looking at all my options

If you could get rankin to be good, not elite or great but just a good solid LT, that would be huge

I have to see it to believe it.

If it’s true then the Chiefs must believe they have their LT for 2021.

It really means that we can either roll with Britt at center or find one through the draft.

Rankin - Allegretti - Britt - LDT - Niang

Eh I’d look to find a long term center in the draft

He just turned 30 years old so even if he misses the entire 2021 season, he'll only be 31 years old at the start of the 2022 season, not 32 going on 33.

He'll have at least 4 more years of play at a high level, so I'm not concerned about him, at all.

Achilles injuries aren't career ending anymore. Hell, Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles and was back on the field 5 months later.

Eh I’d say the worst injuries a tackle could have are full blown knee repair (CC Justin Houston), a severe back injury and a shoulder injury. I think all those are way worse than Achilles.

Remember Fisher had a shoulder injury and he struggled for more than a year bc he couldn’t do very much strength training due to that rehab.

He’ll also need a new contract and LT contracts of players his caliber aren’t cheap.

Would you be ok signing him to that coming off this?

Did the Chiefs sign Justin Britt? He's not listed on the Chiefs website and I can't find a link to a signing.

He was a free agent all of 2020 and never signed with a team.

Wait a minute. You went from saying that he won't be available because of the Achilles injury and age to stating that he'll need a new, expensive contract.

Which is it?

I believe they signed him to a futures deal.

Edit: Maybe it was just a visit.

Agree with Dane.

I think Veach could work an extension to have his 2021 $15 million cap hit changed to a much lower number since he’ll be rehabbing his Achilles.

Fisher would then get a nice signing bonus for his new deal and we keep him until he’s 33 or 34 and can have more time.

Makes too much sense IMO

Hmmm. All I can find is his visit on January 21st. No mention of a Future's contract, at least that I can find.

That said, he'd be a nice alternative to Kilgore, who's a much better run blocker than pass blocker and not a good scheme fit.

He’ll be out all of next year.

The next season back he’ll need a new contract if he comes back and plays. I told the person who told me about him planning to retire it’s easy to say that until a team wants to pay you that many millions and that I was skeptical he’d retire but they were pretty adamant.

That's speculation. As I stated earlier, Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles back in 2012 and was back on the field in 5 months and 6 days.

Now, I'm not stating that Fisher will return by April or May but there's been no mention of recovery time by the Chiefs just yet.

He's earned nearly $70 million since 2013 so he's all set if he plans to retire but until then, I have to think that the Chiefs will work out some kind of injury settlement for him to rehab with the team and prepare for the 2022 season.

I'd be really shocked if they washed their hands of him, especially considering he was their #1 overall pick whose game continues to improve each season.

Just saying what I was told.

I’d say Suggs is more outlier here thoigh. That’s super quick. I’d guess middle of next year with 2022 back to full health being more likely.

He and his wife are expecting their first and he’s made 70 million. Feels like he can get out now with full health and be set for life with his family. Again, things change so who knows but that’s just what I was told.

Well, if he retires, it's because he doesn't love football, he's just a guy that can play football for a massive amount of money.

Considering Reid's mantra about working with guys that live and breathe football, it would be a shock to see a guy like Fisher, who's at the top of the mountain for the second straight season, retire.

Man, I sincerely hope you're spot on with Martinas Rankin at LT. I really do. I REALLY, REALLY do.

I'm INCREDIBLY skeptical. I don't see it, I don't believe it, no-how, no way.

I would really LOVE to be wrong.

With all the head injury stuff now, it wouldn’t completely shock me. I am still skeptical he does but nothing surprises me anymore.

I can’t really say I’d blame any of them though if they wanna retire early like that. If they’re ok with their decision, who am I to question.

Shit if I had 70 million in the bank and was able to spend more time with my family, it’d be tough to keep grinding especially like they have to

I'm also concerned about the bad back. He was playing hurt a good chunk of the year and was obviously not himself.

I agree, a healthy Fisher and I'm not concerned about the LT position. I'm not sure that's a good bet anymore.

Britt was just a visit. Coming off of an ACL I think in 2019. He's a year younger than Fisher and has been a quality OL, making a pro bowl.

I would think that if he's back to healthy, this would be a REALLY smart pick-up. He's still just 29.

He could give you two or three years and at least the first year would be a cheap, prove-it deal.

But as of now, it's just a visit.

Philly is going full rebuild. Call them up about Dillard ?

I mentioned it just after Fisher's injury and apparently, Andy Reid had the same thought.

:D

But seriously, if Reid, the "old offensive line coach" is good with it, then I'm good with it, too.

Again, the Chiefs went 5-3 with freaking Cam Erving (and were a couple of possession from 7-1), so I'm sure Rankin will be fine and most likely, a huge improvement over Erving or they would have re-signed him as a Swing Tackle.

FYI, Britt is only about 5 months younger than Fisher.

man, there are two positions extremely high on your must acquire list when you rebuild a football team.

A Quarterback, and a Left Offensive Tackle.

Why in world would anyone trade away a quality LT that's under rookie contract for a #32 pick?

That will never happen unless they don't like the player, and in that case, we should be skeptical too.

Trading away young LT talent just doesn't happen until they get expensive. In which case, yeah, we still will not be able to afford that player and so we're out.

Yeah.

My questions about Fisher are not so much that he's getting too old; it's that he'll be over 30 with back problems now coming off an achilles.

Honestly, as far as 2022 is concerned, I'm more worried about the back problems. That's not good for 300 pound men. It doesn't get better, and when they start having those issues it's usually an ongoing thing from there on.

A healthy Fisher at 31 is fine, I agree.

Man, this just isn't the way the Chiefs have built their offensive lines over the years.

They want young, raw guys with enough talent and athleticism to fit their scheme, hence LDT and Fulton (6th round), Allegretti (7th round) and Reiter (former 7th rounder that barely played before joining the Chiefs) and so on. Jason Kelce is another example.

I think there's a better than good chance that the Chiefs head into the season with maybe one lineman from the draft a couple of older guys that play for Vet Minimum, with the bulk of the offensive line returning for 2021, sans Fisher and Schwartz (whose status is still in question).

I know. Honestly, I felt better with Wiz across from Suh personally.

In Reid I trust.

But it kind of scares the shit out of me.

Yeah but what are his back problems? Is it muscle pain or something more serious like spinal stenosis?

Fisher played lights out this season, despite suffering from a sore back, so it's hard for me to believe that his back issues are serious enough to make him retire.

They spent the first overall pick on their LT though and andy has always talked about the importance of the tackles.

We’ll see what they do. Hopefully they can figure something out.

Listen, you're correct in talking about interior linemen. There's another thing they all in common-they pretty much all played OT in college. So clearly Reid is looking for particular skillsets.

In terms of OT however, that is NOT the way Reid has approached things. Fisher was #1 overall. Schwartz was a 2nd round pick and is now a handsomely paid RT. NFL level OT play is not the same thing as interior line play. It's a tougher skillset to find, and one that is much more valuable.

Wylie's played in plenty of high profile games, including the AFC Championship in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He also started in the loss to the Rams, which could have easily been a win for the Chiefs had the ball not bounced the way it did a few times, while they put up 51 points on the board.

I'd rather see Wylie start and if he's injured or ineffective, they can plug in Wiz, who's used to coming off the bench for the Chiefs.

Starting Wiz over Wylie doesn't make much sense from a continuity standpoint, which is something Reid believes is a thing.

There were some games there where he clearly was struggling and was not playing well.

Again when he's healthy, he's very good. I'm not trashing the guy.

I'm just saying when the big boys start having back problems it's the beginning of the end usually.

Of course I'm speculating. It's an internet forum. :)

I actually like Wylie ok

however they're practicing is what they should line up as, I'm sure Reid is right.

Wylie's just a less physical player than Wiz and Suh is a monster, and a particularly dirty player as well. That makes me nervous.

I guess it just depends on his will. If he wants to continue, I'm sure that he can do just that and at a high level again.

His "Watch This!" comment to Osemele earlier in the season indicates to me that he's loving every single minute of blocking for Patrick Mahomes, so I think it's going to take something extremely serious to keep him off the field after his recovery.

I would see if Osemele wants to come back cheap.

I expect him to play again. I'm not even sure we should cut him unless we have to. A restructure and rehab deal and see where he's at when he's ready to play again seems right. He's been a good soldier.

But I think you should hedge your bets. A healthy Fisher will be one of your best 5 undoubtedly.

and even if Fisher somehow is healthy to play in '21 (which I doubt) what about RT? I think an 'undisclosed back injury' that has kept him out of the last half of the season, all of the play-offs, and the Super Bowl bodes poorly for him to play in '21, don't you?

We need an OT. We're going to have to take one early.

Where are you going to put him?

Allegretti has locked down the Left Guard position for at minimum, the next two seasons and LDT is set to return to the Right Guard position.

If LDT pulls a 180, then Wylie would continue to start at Right Guard.

I have a hard time believing that Osemele would sit on the bench for Vet Minimum in 2021, especially after the way he performed before tearing up both knees.

They have options.

First off, Schwartz hasn't retired yet. Secondly, they have Lucas Niang, who was a 4 years starter at Right Tackle at Baylor, whom they have for 4 full seasons thanks to his opt-out.

If LDT is back, they could move Wylie out to Right Tackle, where he performed well enough against the Saints and with a full offseason and training camp, could be a long term solution at the position.

They have a world of options without specifically targeting a tackle high in the draft.

and it was BOTH knees on a huge man.

Niang didn't play at Baylor. I like his potential too, but I don't like counting chickens before they're hatched.

You're undervaluing the position.

Yeah, there's no guarantee that he'll be fully rehabbed by August, so he may not even play in 2021 unless he's a late season addition.

If he’s as good as he was prior to the knees, put him at LG. It’s a huge upgrade over allegretti (who could move to center?)

I don’t like going into 2021 with the whole right side of the ol not playing football for a year. That’s scary

Oh yeah, TCU. I always get those two confused.

At this point, there is only on place for Niang, which would be at Right Tackle, unless Rankin just blows in the Super Bowl and they decide to try him at the spot.

Otherwise, the Chiefs would be stuck with a couple of Day 2 tackles and no where to play them.

It would be one thing if the Chiefs were flush with money and Cap Space but they're not, so most likely, the Right Tackle position will go to someone already in-house.

I think best thing for us is to just let it play out. We’ll have an idea after free agency and such by the draft what they’re thinking

Well, the fact of the matter is that even if they can negotiate a deal with Fisher to bring his cap number down to Vet Minimum this year while rehabbing, the Chiefs will most likely still be at the cap or just slightly over.

Whomever starts at the tackle positions are most likely already under contract, whether that's Rankin, Niang, Wylie and Wanago or someone drafted on Day 1 or Day 2.

They won't have an extra $15 million lying around to offer a starting LT.

dude. When the season opens in 2021, we have ZERO healthy starting Offensive Tackles.

None. Not one.

You want to go into a season with moving back-up interior offensive linemen who haven't played all that well at their normal positions out to OT and just roll with that. And do what, draft WR's? That won't start and will be part time players? When's the last rookie WR that started for Andy Reid? What numbers did they put up? That just makes no sense at all.

If Rankin plays well tomorrow then great. That's best case scenario. Then MAYBE you can make an argument that OT isn't as big of a problem, you can pencil in Niang and sign Remmers or Wylie to swing tackle for you and provide insurance in case he's not up to snuff.

But that's a LOT of ifs, ands, and buts.

The Chiefs don't have any cap space in order to sign a highly respected veteran and they're not going to be in a position to draft a highly rated Left Tackle without giving up multiple picks.

The only alternative is to either draft a guy early and hope like hell he can start Week 1 or to coach up a guy that's currently under contract.

That's the reality of the situation.

I mean more by then we’ll know if they restructure other guys, extend etc and we’ll know what the cap number for sure is.

Exactly.

Which is why I would advocate drafting a guy early and hope he can start AND coach up a guy currently under contract (like Rankin, Wanogho, and Niang).

And you figure out of those like FOUR guys, you get two guys that are legit starters.

I am intrigued by: Eisenberg, Mayfield, Radunz, and Walker Little just as examples. Any will be there at #32 and a couple will be left at #64. If the mocks are accurate.

It would be a fantastic problem to have too many talented offensive tackles.

and for the record, I'm advocating taking an OT in the 2nd.

I really think a DE with pass rush skills could make that front 4 a dominant unit. You almost have to do it in the first though.

I have to disagree. That would be a terrible plan.

The Chiefs can't waste valuable resources with the "hope" that the draftee would be an adequate Left Tackle on a team that's hoping to become a dynasty.

Hell, even Fisher, who was drafted #1 overall, wasn't ready to start at left tackle his rookie season and was nothing short of a disaster at Right Tackle.

Reid greatly prefers experience but since they don't have any cap space, it's most likely going to be someone who's already on the roster.

This doesn't look or sound like a guy who is intending to retire:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Eric Fisher has also made the trip to Tampa. <a href="https://t.co/9UCgSBAMCb">pic.twitter.com/9UCgSBAMCb</a></p>&mdash; Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByNateTaylor/status/1358176459966275584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I expect not. He's a warrior. So is Schwartz.

by that logic, don't ever draft anybody ever. We have holes, we have question marks for everyday starting positions in 2021. We have limited cap dollars. You don't just hope they fill themselves.

We won't be short of offensive weapons for at least 3 years. Hill, Hardman, Clyde-all young. Kelce probably has 3 years before he slows down I'd guess. Why are we going to worry about restocking weapons when we're full? Why would we not address real problem areas? I just don't agree at all with your logic.

And I'm saying I want a plus DE in this draft. That's round 1 possibly 2 but probably no later.

OT's don't grow on trees, and Reid has shown throughout his career that he values them. OG's they'll coach up late picks and UDFA's, but OT's are premium.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, because I basically disagree with nearly every post you've made on this subject.

If they're at a "Premium" as you state, why did Cam Erving start 8 games in 2019?

After the Chiefs released him, all he could muster was a Vet Minimum contract with the Cowboys.

And good grief, the Chiefs won games with Jah Reid at tackle.

Dude. Erving was a backup.

I feel like your arguments aren't even honest.

Eric Fisher #1 overall. Mitchell Schwartz 2nd round pick, nice fat contract.

We were willing to dedicate significant resources to the position at both ends of the line.

We'll see what Veach does, but I seriously doubt he does nothing, which is what you're saying.

Anyway, we'll have to agree to disagree.

The Chiefs have won plenty of football games since Reid arrived with such run of the mill tackles as Brandon Albert, Donald Stephenson, Jah Reid, Cam Erving, Mike Remmers, Bryan Witzmann and even Yasir Durant.

Reid just schemes around any deficiency.