Chiefs making a ‘strong push’ to retain center Rodney Hudson

Retaining free-agent center Rodney Hudson won’t be easy, but the Chiefs are, at the very least, giving it a go.

A league source told The Star on Saturday that the Chiefs are making a “strong push” to hold on to Hudson, even though bids from other teams have come in at over $8 million-plus per year and are likely going higher.

NFL teams were allowed to contact agents for pending free agents on Saturday, although the free-agency period doesn’t officially begin until the new league year starts Tuesday.

Hudson, 25, is one of the most coveted free-agent centers on the market. He graded out as one of the league’s top centers in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus.

In 16 games, his grade of plus-13.0 ranked third in the league among eligible players at his position, behind two Pro Bowlers in the Jets’ Nick Mangold (22.6) and the Cowboys’ Travis Frederick (19.8) and ahead of two more in the Steelers’ Maurkice Pouncey (9.8) and the Eagles’ Jason Kelce (7.5).

It was a better overall season than the one Hudson posted in 2013, his first back after he broke his left leg in the third game of the 2012 season.

Hudson was solid enough in 2013, posting a PFF grade of 4.4 in 15 games, which ranked 17th among 35 qualifying centers. But his blocks that season sometimes lacked the efficiency he flashed in 2014, particularly in space, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Doug Pederson repeatedly touted the strides Hudson has made mentally.

That said, the fact Hudson is clearly the best young center on the market this year — the next closest is the Saints’ Brian de la Puente, who turns 30 this year and whose PFF grade is a third of Hudson’s (4.3) — will play in his favor during this free-agent period, as teams that need centers should feel comfortable investing in a young player who is entering his prime.

So it appears the Chiefs will need to ante up to retain Hudson, which won’t be an easy proposition. They already remain approximately $1.1 million over the cap — not counting Josh Mauga’s recent extension, the terms of which have not been released — and need to make more roster moves to get down under the cap by Tuesday.

The Chiefs can create more room by negotiating a lower salary with safety Eric Berry, who is slated for an $8.3 million cap hit but is currently battling lymphoma, and/or converting quarterback Alex Smith’s base salary to a bonus.

Other players whose release would create a sizable amount of cap space include receiver Dwayne Bowe ($14 million cap hit in 2015), inside linebacker Derrick Johnson ($5.2 million), quarterback Chase Daniel ($3.8 million) and defensive end Mike DeVito ($4 million).

If Hudson leaves, the Chiefs could draft a center — Florida State’s Cameron Erving is the only player at the position expected to go in the first round — or give third-year pro Eric Kush his first real opportunity to earn a starting job since he was taken in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of tiny California University of Pennsylvania.

Kush has appeared in three games, with one start, in his two years as a Chief. All came in 2013, his rookie season.

“I think Kush is ready to play,” general manager John Dorsey said at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. “He’s champing at the bit.”

Depending on how the Chiefs’ negotiations with Hudson goes — and whether they can keep up with his rising price tag — will determine whether or not Kush, or someone else, gets an opportunity to become the epicenter of the Chiefs’ offensive line.

This story was originally published March 7, 2015 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Chiefs making a ‘strong push’ to retain center Rodney Hudson."