Crossroads: What Will Chiefs Do With Frank Clark?

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Earlier this week, the Kansas City Chiefs parted ways with one veteran defender. Linebacker Anthony Hitchens was released after four seasons with the team. That was not a very surprising move overall, as it helped open up more salary cap space for the Chiefs in 2022. Many moves are expected to take place on the defensive side of the ball. Yet, there is one potential move that is ultra-complicated. What will Kansas City ultimately decide to do with defensive end Frank Clark?

In the 2019 offseason, Clark received the franchise tag from the Seattle Seahawks. Kansas City later acquired the defender from Seattle in a tag and trade scenario. The Chiefs not only sent a 2019 first round pick and a 2019 third round pick to the Seahawks. More notably, they signed Clark to a five-year contract worth a total of $105.5 million. It included $63.5 million guaranteed. He was coming off of an amazing 2018 season, where the pass rusher accumulated 13 sacks. That remains to be a single season career high in sacks as we head into 2022.

There have certainly been some hot stretches that Clark has had with the Chiefs. Elsewhere, there has been a lot to be desired in crucial moments. The potential to open up a great deal of more 2022 salary cap space exists by moving on, however. Will Kansas City hold on to the pass rusher for the upcoming season? Or, will they cut bait at a prime opportunity, similar to what they did with the aforementioned Hitchens?

Different Paths

Release Clark

The options that the Chiefs are surrounded with when it comes to Frank Clark, are much different than what they had with Anthony Hitchens. It was concrete how much money would be cleared by simply releasing Hitchens ($8.44 million, per Over The Cap). The dead cap hit was also obvious and was not going to fluctuate ($4.2 million). There are many different values as to what those numbers could look like in the case of Clark. And it all has to do with potential timing.

For instance, if the Chiefs were to release Clark before June 1, 2022, they would save $12.7 million in 2022 cap space. Nonetheless, the team would still take on a rather hefty dead cap hit of $13.6 million with that choice. The numbers are a lot more favorable for the team, if they were to release him with a post-June 1 designation. They would then save $19.5 million by going this route, while incurring a much less devastating dead cap hit of $6.8 million. It should be noted that the dead cap number would be associated to the salary cap in both 2022 and 2023, if the Chiefs were to release Clark via a post-June 1 designation.

Restructure Clark’s Contract

This could very well be the first course of action that the Chiefs may attempt with Clark. Unlike with Hitchens, there is no immediate replacement on the roster at defensive end going into the free agency period. There are surely some great options at the position who are available to sign in March or draft in April. However, nothing is guaranteed when attempting to bring in a new piece.

There are a couple of questions that Kansas City would be faced with by going this route. First off, would Clark be willing to take a possible pay cut? Is doing a contract restructure the most beneficial option for the Chiefs moving forward?

The team can always kick the can down the road, so to speak and push money down the line. We have learned that general manager Brett Veach is very adamant about not getting into future monetary binds, though. The maximum amount of cap space that the Chiefs could create by restructuring Clark’s contract? That would be $9.1 million, according to Over The Cap. Of course, that is not quite as advantageous for the team, when it comes to the amount of cap space that they could create.

Trade Clark

Would some team be willing to acquire Clark via trade and make his contract work? There are also a few factors that come into play with this scenario. One, the other team involved in the trade would likely need to have a great load of 2022 salary cap space at their disposal. Kansas City would also have to be realistic with what they would get in return. Likely, you are not getting a major asset back in return for moving on from Clark. The Chiefs would also have to be willing to cut their losses with this defender, at the same time. Veach has shown that he is willing to do that more often recently.

Contenders battling with the Chiefs in the AFC could be surprisingly strong candidates in this scenario. Every team is looking for an edge against their top opponents. With Kansas City, one of the best ways to beat them is by putting pressure on Patrick Mahomes. Teams can never have too many pass rushers. Furthermore, there is always the chance that Clark can improve in a new setting.

Boom Or Bust

It was of course never the hope of the Chiefs to be in this spot with the pass rusher. But still, let’s look back on how Clark has fared during his time with Kansas City. We will start with the good.

His first season with the team was arguably his best one so far. In 2019, he achieved his best marks with the Chiefs in categories like total tackles (37), tackles for loss (12), sacks (eight), pass deflections (four), forced fumbles (three) and interceptions (one). That was of course just in the regular season. In the postseason, Clark wreaked havoc in the backfield in many vital moments. His seven quarterback hits, five sacks and five tackles for loss were a major reason as to why the Chiefs defense was able to help Kansas City win Super Bowl LIV.

We should also note Clark’s hot stretch during the midway point of the 2021 regular season. After Week 7, the pass rusher was ranked 16th in the entire NFL in pressures (11). He also had a meaningful pressure rate of 13.6 percent at the time.

On the other hand, there were some notable stretches that left a lot to be desired. The postseason stretches of the last two years were nowhere near what Clark was able to accomplish in that aforementioned postseason after 2019. We have also seen him make more crucial stops in the run game, compared to the pass rush game in the last couple of years. That can help occasionally. But most of all, the lack of consistent results and declining production for Clark as a pass rusher is concerning. It certainly does not meet the contract values that he is due for in the next two seasons. As a result, the Chiefs must make the right decision with Clark at this current crossroads.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles throughout next week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.