Veteran defensive end Frank Clark is coming off his third consecutive Pro Bowl appearance for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the 2019 season, he continues to play at a relatively high level.
Despite this, a down 2021 campaign coupled with Clark’s atrocious contract has led to widespread speculation that the former West Virginia star will be traded or released before the new league year opens next month.
Clark, 28, is set to count $26.3 million against the cap in 2022. For their part, the Chiefs are $11.49 million under the estimated 2022 NFL salary cap. Below, we look at four ideal trade destinations for the Pro Bowl edge rusher.
Related: Updated NFL trade rumors
Buffalo Bills add Frank Clark to the mix
Coming off another pretty successful season, the Bills’ brass must find more of a pass rush if they want to be seen as top-end Super Bowl contenders in 2022. Mario Addison led the team with a mere seven sacks. He’s slated to join Jerry Hughes as a free agent once the market opens.
The question for Buffalo is whether it can afford Clark’s price tag. Any acquiring team would be on the hook for a $19 million cap hit by picking him up. The Bills are currently $2.3 million over the cap — meaning that they’ll need to cut fat somewhere. The likeliest scenario here would be an extension to lower Clark’s 2022 cap number.
Related: NFL salary cap situations for all 32 teams
Indianapolis Colts finally add elite edge guy
Indy thinks it has something in youngsters Kemoko Turay and Kwity Paye to go with stud defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. As of yet, neither has shown he can be a consistent threat out on the edge. The two recorded a combined 18 quarterback hits in 2021.
Imagine general manager Chris Ballard being able to team Buckner up with Frank Clark. It would be a pretty darn good pass-rush tandem. Buckner’s presence should also free up Clark to an extent after he struggled to the tune of a mere 4.5 sacks last season. With roughly $37 million to spend under the cap and more money set to be freed up by releasing/trading Carson Wentz, the Colts can afford Clark’s 2022 cap hit.
Related: Sportsnaut’s 2022 NFL mock draft
Philadelphia Eagles bring in Frank Clark
Despite earning a surprise trip to the playoffs last season, Philadelphia’s pass defense was nothing to write home about. This unit gave up 28 passing touchdowns against 12 interceptions while yielding a 95.4 passer rating.
One of the primary reasons for this was a lack of a pass rush out on the edge. Javon Hargrave and Josh Sweat tied for the team lead with 7.5 sacks. No other edge pass rusher had more than two sacks. While we’re fully expecting Philadelphia to address this position with one of its three first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, acquiring a veteran like Clark would make sense.
New York Jets add pass rush threat
New York thought it had a cornerstone in head coach Robert Saleh’s defense when the team signed Carl Lawson ahead of the 2021 season. Unfortunately, he did not play a single regular-season snap after tearing his Achilles during the summer. This set the Jets’ defense back in a big way with the unit accumulating a mere 33 sacks. Enter into the equation a player of Clark’s ilk.
- Frank Clark stats ( 2016-21): 112 quarterback hits, 55 tackles for loss, 50.5 sacks
With Lawson looking to return to 100% and the Jets expected to be active this spring, it would not be a surprise if they pulled off a trade for Clark. It’d likely cost a mere mid-round pick. And with $44.73 million to spend under the cap, they can afford it.