Frank Clark has been traded to the Chiefs! How will this impact both teams? Find out our grades for both teams involved in the Frank Clark trade!
After being franchised tagged by the Seattle Seahawks, it became quite clear Frank Clark was likely not signing the one year deal. He wanted to be paid like an elite pass rusher, but the Seahawks didn’t want to go that high on price, especially after just breaking the bank for QB Russell Wilson.
After no progress had been made on a deal to sign Frank Clark long term, the Seahawks have decided to send their star pass rusher elsewhere, facilitating a Frank Clark trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.
I’m going to give each team a grade for this trade which shakes up the NFL Draft, but first, let’s take a look at what each team received.
Trade Recap:
Seahawks receive: Chiefs’ 2019 first-round pick (No. 29), a 2020 second-round pick and a swap of a 2019 third-round pick.
Chiefs receive: DE Frank Clark and a swap of a 2019 third-round pick.
No that we’ve recapped what each team received in this trade, let’s get into some team grades for the Frank Clark trade.
Seattle Seahawks
In my opinion, the Frank Clark trade makes perfect sense for the Seahawks. Frank Clark was franchised tagged earlier this offseason, but the two sides had yet to come to an agreement to keep him around long term. The Dallas Cowboys signing DE DeMarcus Lawrence to a huge contract not too long ago probably had something to do with that.
Clark wanted to be paid about the same amount of money Lawrence received from the Cowboys. I think it’s safe to say the Seahawks didn’t see him as that type of player. After earning 13.0 sacks last season, it’s clear Clark can make a huge impact on a defense. It will be tough for Seattle to replace his production, but they now have the draft capital to replace him with production at a much cheaper cost.
In return for Frank Clark, the Seahawks receive the No. 29 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. They also get a second-round pick next year, in addition to swapping a third-rounder with the Chiefs this year. Getting that second-round pick in 2020 was nice, but let’s focus on the first-round pick this season.
Seattle already held the No. 21 pick in this draft, meaning they have two first-rounders now. The No. 29 pick was a huge get for this team, especially considering they don’t have a second-round pick and only had four picks total in this draft before the trade.
Now having two first-rounders, if the Seahawks wish to do so, they can trade up in this draft to get an elite player of their choosing. Or, if they choose to do so, they can stay put at No. 21 and No. 29 and select two top players in this draft.
To recap, losing Frank Clark hurts, but he’s not the type of player who makes this Seattle defense significantly worse if he’s not around. He wasn’t worth the money for the Seahawks. Instead, they can now focus their draft on filling some needs with cheaper players who can be just as impactful. The Frank Clark trade was a smart move by Seattle.
Grade: A
Kansas City Chiefs
I was just telling you about how it was a smart move for the Seahawks to not pay Frank Clark DeMarcus Lawrence type money. Well, the Chiefs did give him that money.
After trading for Clark, the Chiefs signed him to a five year, $105.5 million deal with $63.5 million in guaranteed money. His contract is larger than Lawrence’s overall, but with slightly less guaranteed. I personally don’t think Clark is on the same level as Lawrence, so I’m not a huge fan of this signing.
It’s not just about giving that contract to Clark though. It’s also about the salary cap. Before this trade, the Chiefs had $21.9 million in cap space. With this signing, most of, if not all of that cap space will be gone. That will only create problems for them in the future.
Although I’m not a huge fan of the deal the Chiefs gave Clark, I do think the Chiefs got a great player. He’s totaled 35.0 sacks in his first four NFL seasons. He’s been very productive rushing the passer, and should only help this Chiefs’ defense, especially after the movement they’ve had on that side of the ball this offseason.
In terms of the picks the Chiefs gave up, I think it may have been a little too much. Had they given up just a first-rounder, I think that would’ve been perfect. I believe the first-rounder and second-rounder next year were too much. With that being said, I do like that the Chiefs went and got a proven NFL pass rusher. That’s better than reaching for a guy at No. 29 who may or may not turn out to be a good NFL player.
To recap the Chiefs’ end of the Frank Clark trade, I love the player they got. Frank Clark is a legit NFL pass rusher. I think that’s better than reaching for a guy who may not pan out. The Chiefs got a great player, but I believe they gave up too much for him. They did that while paying him a crazy contract. Good move to get a talented player, but was it the best business decision?
Grade: C
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