After a protracted battle to sign this incredible star, the Chiefs have finally sealed this historic contract.
The Kansas City Chiefs have signed four free agents to Reserve/Future contracts for 2024: pass rusher Jordan Smith, wide receiver Jacob Copeland, running back Hassan Hall, and quarterback Ian Book, according to Wednesday’s NFL transactions report.
A Reserve/Future contract provides a minimum pay that is not guaranteed and goes into effect in March with the start of the new league season. These players are not eligible to play in the postseason, and it will rely on Kansas City’s other roster decisions whether they stay with the team until training camp. The Chiefs will probably sign the majority of their practice squad to Reserve/Future contracts at the end of the season.
Book of Notre Dame was chosen by the New Orleans Saints in the 133rd overall fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. During his debut season, he started one game and passed for 135 yards with two interceptions while helping the squad overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the 2022 season, Book was waived by the Saints, but the Philadelphia Eagles later claimed him off waivers. Book spent a brief time on the practice squad of the New England Patriots in 2023.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Miami Dolphins
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The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Smith, a 2021 fourth-round pick, 121st overall. The Alabama-Birmingham graduate missed all of 2022 due to a knee injury after playing in just two games during his rookie campaign. Joe Cullen, the defensive line coach for Kansas City, served as Smith’s defensive coordinator in his first season in Jacksonville.
This season, undrafted free agents Copeland, a former wide receiver from Maryland, and Hall, a running back from Georgia Tech, joined the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, respectively. Having missed their first squads, both players have been on and off practice squads several times this season.
In the teams’ preseason finale this year, Hall, then with the Browns, picked up three yards on three rushes against the Chiefs.
The 2024 minimum pay for these players will (at least temporarily) count against Kansas City’s 2024 salary cap because the Chiefs do not yet have 51 players contracted for the upcoming season. With two seasons apiece under their belts, Book and Smith’s minimum pay will be stated at $985,000. Due to their lack of NFL playing experience, Copeland and Hall will get a minimum salary of $795,000.
An estimated $3.6 million will be taken out of the team’s 2024 salary cap space as a result of these four contracts.
