The Kansas City Chiefs have cleared up some much-needed cap space with a procedural move.
According to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Terez Paylor, the Chiefs have restructured the contract of starting right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. The good doctor carried an $8.9 million cap hit in 2020 but has two years remaining on his contract. The restructure will spread some of that amount out over the remainder of the contract.
The Chiefs needed to clear some cap space in order to sign their draft class. Earlier today the NFLPA’s public salary cap report had the Chiefs at just under $1.5 million in cap space. According to general manager Brett Veach, the team needed between $3 million and $5 million in cap space in order to sign their 2020 draft class.
Drafted by the Chiefs in 2014, Duvernay-Tardif signed a five-year contract extension with the team worth over $42 million in 2018.
Duvernay-Tardif was a potential cut or trade candidate prior to the restructured contract. The choice to restructure signals that he’ll remain with Kansas City in 2020. It’s clear that Chiefs don’t want homegrown talent like Duvernay-Tardif leaving the franchise and Duvernay-Tardif isn’t ready to leave after winning Super Bowl LIV last season.
