KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs acquired pass rusher Frank Clark from the Seattle Seahawks for a package of picks Tuesday, then quickly agreed with him on a $105 million, five-year contract, as they continue to overhaul their much-maligned defense.
The Chiefs sent the No. 29 overall pick in this year’s draft and a second-round pick in 2020 to Seattle, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke about the trade terms and contract details on condition of anonymity because they were pending a physical.
Clark planned to head to Kansas City to complete that in the next 48 hours.
The trade, first reported by the NFL Network, also includes a swap of third-round picks in this year’s draft. That means the Chiefs will move up eight spots on Friday night.
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said last week that he was aggressively trying to upgrade the defense, and he acknowledged the window for winning a Super Bowl title began last season. That’s when Patrick Mahomes took over at quarterback and had an MVP season as a first-time starter, leading Kansas City to a third straight AFC West title and the conference championship game.
“We want to take the next step,” Veach said. “Certainly, it goes without saying our offense was pretty efficient last year and I think we are always looking to improve and get better.”
Seattle already had the 21st pick overall pick Thursday night, and now General Manager John Schneider has an additional first-day selection as he begins rebuilding his own defense.
Clark was chosen by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2015 draft, though most agreed he was a first-round talent docked by off-the-field concerns. But he quickly became a dependable edge rusher, piling up 36 sacks over his first four seasons with a team-best 14 this past season.
The Seahawks placed the franchise tag on him after the season, but Clark had yet to sign the $17.128 million deal as rumors of a trade swirled. Several other teams also inquired about landing him ahead of the draft as Seattle tried to accumulate additional picks.
“This time, and the trade deadline, there’s some speculation about a lot of players,” Schneider said on Monday. “We’re involved in a lot of deals. We take a lot of pride in that. We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we weren’t listening to everybody.”
RAMS: Los Angeles locked down Jared Goff through the 2020 season, and intends to keep its franchise quarterback around for a whole lot longer.
The Rams exercised Goff’s $22.783 million, fifth-year contract option Tuesday. General Manager Les Snead and Coach Sean McVay also affirmed the NFC champions’ intention to sign their young offensive leader to a long-term deal eventually.
“We just want to make sure there’s clarity on how great we feel about him leading our team for many years to come,” McVay said. “He’s only getting better and better, and as he continues to accumulate experience, we feel so good about our quarterback position with him leading the way.”
Goff was fourth in the NFL last season with 4,688 yards passing along with 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He led the Rams to their first NFC championship in 17 years, but went 19 of 38 for 229 yards in a mediocre Super Bowl while Los Angeles failed to score a touchdown against New England.
That disappointment apparently had no effect on the Rams’ opinion of Goff, who has earned two Pro Bowl selections while leading the Rams to 24 regular-season victories over the past two years. Goff has given much of the credit for his evolution to McVay, but the 33-year-old coach returns the praise to his 24-year-old passer.
PANTHERS: Running back Jonathan Stewart has announced he is retiring from the NFL.
Stewart, who spent last season with the New York Giants, signed a one-day contract Tuesday with the Carolina Panthers. Stewart spent 10 seasons with the Panthers and is the franchise’s career leading rusher with 7,318 yards.
He was released by Carolina prior to last season in a salary cap move and signed a one-year deal with the Giants. However, injuries limited him to six carries in three games.
The 32-year-old Stewart scored 58 total touchdowns with the Panthers, the second most in team history. Carolina finished in the top 10 in rushing offense seven times in Stewart’s 10 seasons with the team.
BROWNS: Odell Beckham Jr. used Twitter on Monday night to unload on the New York Giants, ripping the general manager of his former team, defending himself against the notion that he was a team “cancer” and saying that he had “begged” Coach Pat Shurmur to be allowed to be on the sideline during home games.
“Im not playin shotsss are fired!!!” he tweeted as the tirade drew to a close.
He wasn’t kidding about that. Beckham, who was traded to the Cleveland Browns in March for the Browns’ Nos. 17 and 95 overall picks and Jabrill Peppers, reiterated that he was happy to have landed in The Land while dissing Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman over how his five years in New York ended.
“Im not upset in ANY way about where I landed,” he tweeted. “But outta respect what they did, was crazy! And beyond disrespectful ! I wanted nothin but the best for NY. But on to a new chapter . . .. ITS LIFE”
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