Chiefs’ Watkins: Might ‘chill out,’ miss ’20 season
Dan Orlovsky breaks down what Patrick Mahomes needs to do in order to lead the Chiefs past the 49ers in the Super Bowl. (1:14)
AVENTURA, Fla. — Wide receiver Sammy Watkins said he’s considering many options — including one where he would sit out the 2020 season — as he contemplates his future with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“If it suits me and my family and [meets] my needs, for sure,” Watkins said Thursday when asked about possibly renegotiating his contract as the Chiefs prepared for Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers. “But I’m really in a different space right now. I don’t know what I’m going to do. If we win it, I might chill out. I might sit out a year. You just never know.
“Not retiring, but I might just want to rest up and chill. I don’t know. I don’t want to say I’m going to do something, but you never know. I might want to go somewhere else and create another Super Bowl team. So it’s just all about how I’m feeling. I’ve got to sit down with my family, my parents and grandparents and everybody and just see what I want to do.”
Watkins would be entering the third and final season of his contract with the Chiefs in 2020. He is scheduled to make $14 million next season, but none of it is guaranteed. The Chiefs would take a $7 million salary-cap hit if Watkins is released.
He has caught 92 passes for 1,192 yards and 6 touchdowns in 28 regular-season games for the Chiefs. Two of his better performances have come in AFC Championship Games, with Watkins catching four passes for 114 yards against the New England Patriots last season and seven for 114 and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans this season.
When asked late in the regular season about whether he thought he’d be back with the Chiefs in 2020, Watkins said he wasn’t sure.
“Possibly not if we win the Super Bowl and we’ve got to pay Pat [Mahomes] $300 million and then you’ve got to pay [Travis] Kelce and other guys, too,” Watkins said. “So you never know. But I definitely love it here. My family loves it here. If we keep winning here, I’m willing to stay anywhere. I want to stay here. I don’t want to go to another team and lose. I think I’d retire if I get back to losing games.
“As long as we’re winning games and I stay healthy and I’m having fun, I’m willing to stay.”