Three Chiefs have contract situations to keep an eye on for the future

Salary cap expert and former NFL agent Joel Corry identified three players on the Chiefs’ roster whose contract situations are worth keeping an eye on for 2015 and beyond.

Nose tackle Dontari Poe

The Chiefs recently exercised a fifth-year option on Poe’s rookie deal, but the freakishly athletic nose tackle is slated for free agency in 2017, and he should command a pretty penny as the rare 3-4 nose tackle who can two-gap or get upfield.

“I’ll tell you what will largely determine what Poe’s looking at — what happens with Marcell Dareus,” Corry said of the Buffalo nose tackle. “They (the Bills) want to get something done with (Dareus) in the next few weeks. That’s not gonna be cheap.”

It remains to be seen if Poe can get Dareus’ deal, whatever it turns out to be, but both are two-time Pro Bowlers.

“He needs him to raise the bar so he can benefit from the trickle-down effect,” Corry said.

Cornerback Sean Smith

Smith is coming off a career season and is slated for free agency next March. He will be 29 years old when next season starts, and a potential NFL suspension looms over him for a DUI arrest last June, but Corry sees a nice payday in Smith’s future, provided he has another nice season.

“Let’s put it this way … as long as he doesn’t regress, as a big corner who’s still relatively young, you’ve got to be thinking Byron Maxwell is my floor,” Corry said. “He’s got to be thinking, ‘Byron Maxwell got that? That dude’s a $10 million corner and I’m a Pro Bowl guy?’

“I’m just telling you how it’s going to be looked at from a player-agent perspective. The Chiefs have to address how the other side is looking at it. They may not agree with it, but it’s going to factor into whether something gets done.”

Maxwell signed a lucrative six-year, $63 million contract with the Eagles this offseason.

Quarterback Chase Daniel

Corry said the Chiefs could possibly create more cap room by adding another year to Daniel’s deal, but that would require Daniel to put off unrestricted free agency — and the chance to find a less-stable quarterback situation elsewhere — for another year.

“He might want to go someplace where there’s a less-established quarterback, try to parlay his opportunity into something more, because when he’s played, he’s looked decent,” Corry said. “It’s all gonna depend on how guys play this year and what’s available, but he’s looking more at opportunity as opposed to dollars this time, because if he gets an opportunity and does something with it, it’s a whole different stratosphere, financially.”

This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Three Chiefs have contract situations to keep an eye on for the future."