A legitimate free-agent: Jordan Gross

[HokieChief 09]

Jordan Gross, in my opinion, would be a HUGE pickup for this team if we were able to get him this offseason(regarding whether they franchise him or Julius Peppers is up for debate right now). Yes, I have heard that the Panthers are going to pursue resigning the free agent LT, but that's not set in stone just yet. He's 29, and I think he could fit in great with this team. He's got experience, and he seems to be the premier tackle of this years free agent class. Go for him Pioli, we have plenty of cap and a tackle is a dire necessity for this team at this point.

[ChiefsFanFromNY]

Pay him a huge contract to play RT? It doesn't make sense for the Chiefs.

[HokieChief 09]

Yes it does. Why the hell not? We have the cap, we desperately need to hardware on that line, how does it not make sense?? He's a beast, any team would die to have a legit tackle like him. I don't know what Chiefs team you were watching last year, but nobody on our current Offensive Line's job should be secure.

[Chief Tyler]

Jordan Gross, in my opinion, would be a HUGE pickup for this team if we were able to get him this offseason(regarding whether they franchise him or Julius Peppers is up for debate right now). Yes, I have heard that the Panthers are going to pursue resigning the free agent LT, but that's not set in stone just yet. He's 29, and I think he could fit in great with this team. He's got experience, and he seems to be the premier tackle of this years free agent class. Go for him Pioli, we have plenty of cap and a tackle is a dire necessity for this team at this point.

I think this is pretty much everybody's opinion, and a longshot dream too. They want to try and keep both players, I would want to sign Gross long term and franchise Peppers being that the latter wants out. I have a hard time believing the Chiefs, or any team for that matter, pick up either without a hefty price tag in terms of picks and cash.

[Chief Tyler]

And all the better for us, I'm all for throwing most of our cap money at defensive personnel and bulking up the O-Line in the draft. There are a lot more star prospects on the offensive side of the ball than there are defense this year.

[Coach]

Jordan Gross, in my opinion, would be a HUGE pickup for this team if we were able to get him this offseason(regarding whether they franchise him or Julius Peppers is up for debate right now). Yes, I have heard that the Panthers are going to pursue resigning the free agent LT, but that's not set in stone just yet. He's 29, and I think he could fit in great with this team. He's got experience, and he seems to be the premier tackle of this years free agent class. Go for him Pioli, we have plenty of cap and a tackle is a dire necessity for this team at this point.

It will be interesting to see how Carolina handles the Peppers and Gross situation. They drafted Otah last year and he played extremely well. The strength of the Carolina team is their running game. So I would imagine they would try to keep that in tact. Especially since there is a better than average chance that Carolina will be starting a rookie QB within the next 2 seasons. So while Otah gives them options at LT, I would expect them to try to keep Gross.

Peppers is a different scenario. I think they let him test free agency. He will demand a high price tag and he doesn't want to be on the team. He only had 2.5 sacks in 2007. He increased that output this year back to 14.5 sacks. Probably because it was a contract year. There are some major effort concerns with this guy. Will he still play hard after he gets his 20-30 million in guaranteed money? Ala Larry Johnson.

For those reasons, I see Carolina franchising Gross and letting Peppers hit the street. Especially considering Carolina could most likely grab one of the top 2 DE's in the 1st round of this year's draft.

[HokieChief 09]

I agree with the Peppers statement, Coach. A lot of players in this league, not just LJ, have effort concerns once they get that fat paycheck (this would be why I oppose us trading for Matt Leinart). I actually think going after Julius Peppers is a risk or reward. It would obviously be an instant upgrade, but he does have questionable motivational issues. I agree, I'm not 100% about Julius Peppers.

But back to the point, depending on how Carolina handles Gross' situation, I think we should approach him regardless. He's a stud tackle, one that would go great opposite of Branden Albert. I want him as a Chief, as does pretty much every Chief fan. So if he is there, why not take a shot? Yes, we have other pressing needs (aka defensive line), but utilizing some(or a lot) of our cap money towards a tackle in free agency just makes sense to me. If we draft a QB in the first round, we should arguably get some more protection for him via freee agency. And, Chief Tyler, I do agree we could spend our cash on defensive line and whatnot, I definitely wouldn't disagree with that at all. But what I am trying to say is that our offensive line was putrid as well last season, so its obvious that we need to upgrade through the draft AND free agency.

[jap1]

For those reasons, I see Carolina franchising Gross and letting Peppers hit the street. Especially considering Carolina could most likely grab one of the top 2 DE's in the 1st round of this year's draft.

FYI Carolina doesnt have a pick until the late 2nd round. They traded their 1st rounder to Philly. Their 1st pick would be #59 (#27 in 2nd round).

[Pro_Angler]

I would love for the chiefs to pick up some of our needed spots outa free agency, and draft crabtree at 33 and stick it to seattle.. Crabtree/bowe/thigpen/gonzo yupperss +SB

[ChiefsFanFromNY]

Yes it does. Why the hell not? We have the cap, we desperately need to hardware on that line, how does it not make sense?? He's a beast, any team would die to have a legit tackle like him. I don't know what Chiefs team you were watching last year, but nobody on our current Offensive Line's job should be secure.

Because you don't pay RT's the kind of money that Gross is going to demand, unless you have a left-handed QB. He's going to be one of the highest, if not the highest paid offensive lineman with his new contract. He will demand LT money. If we didn't have Albert at LT, and he was available then yeah I would be for it. But just because we have cap room does not mean that we should grossly overpay players.

We obviously need help on the right side of our line, but to invest 20-30 million of dollars of guaranteed money for one player in a position that isn't LT or protecting the blindside of the QB is insane.