Despite failing to come to terms with safety Eric Berry on a longterm deal, the Kansas City Chiefs have decided to splash some money on a contract extension before the start of the season. Backing up the money truck for former first overall pick Eric Fisher with a deal that will make Fisher the highest paid offensive lineman in the league.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Chiefs signed Fisher to a four-year, $48 million extension, with $40 million guaranteed. Pushing Fisher’s deal to a six-year, $63 million contract that has the Chiefs gambling on a player who they took the starting left tackle job from last September.
Fisher’s play did improve in 2015, but it is his poor play over his first two seasons that makes this deal such a surprise as the Chiefs are giving top money to a player who ranked in the 70-80 range amongst NFL tackles per Pro Football Focus during his first two seasons. Fisher allowing a shockingly poor seven sacks in both of those two seasons as a player who failed to live up to the billing of a top draft pick as he failed to even rank at a level of a starting tackle in both 2013 and 2014 for Kansas City despite being selected first overall.
Fisher did turn things around after losing his starting left tackle job last season, performing capably on the Chiefs offensive line and impressively containing a not 100% healthy JJ Watt in the AFC Wild Card where Kansas City won their first playoff game in over 20 years. Finishing the 2015 season as PFF’s 36th ranked tackle in 2015 and compiling 13 games where he managed to avoid allowing Alex Smith to get hit by his pass blocking assignment.
Still, paying the 36th best tackle in the NFL top money is a big risk as the Chiefs have decided to reward their former first overall pick with an extremely generous contract that he likely would not have been offered had Kansas City allowed Fisher to test the open market in free agency. Fisher getting massively overpaid by general manager John Dorsey based on his performances while on his rookie deal as Fisher has been more of a disappointment than anything since being drafted by the Chiefs.
The risk to pay Fisher is even greater when you weigh the outcomes it could cause for the Chiefs in retaining the likes of Eric Berry and defensive tackle Dontari Poe. Two important veterans on defense that could walk in free agency this summer after the Chiefs decided to spend a large portion of their cap space on a left tackle who has yet to find success at the position. Dorsey’s decision to pay Fisher opens the door for a potential exodus of defensive talent on a Chiefs team that has thrived off of the defensive side of the football in recent years, making the decision to overpay on a role player on their offensive line a puzzling one.
It is clear that Dorsey is paying Fisher based on his potential rather than his performances so far and that he along with head coach Andy Reid truly believe that the former top pick can live up to his potential where he would be worth this massive extension. However, the risks that the Chiefs are making in using this money on a still unproven tackle when they could have locked in a locker room leader like Eric Berry makes this a huge gamble. The Chiefs are putting their faith in Eric Fisher becoming a top left tackle, and with a huge guaranteed contract the pressure is now squarely on Fisher to make sure that Dorsey doesn’t regret his decision to spend big on the former first overall pick.
