Jeremy Maclin says the Chiefs didn’t approach him about taking a pay cut, and they didn’t even approach him personally to tell him he was released.
The new Ravens wide receiver said that Chiefs general manager John Dorsey delivered the message through a voicemail.
“I was upset, I was shocked,” Maclin told Pro Football Talk. “Apparently, they had been trying to trade me for two or three months. Which who knows if that’s true or not? I would just think that . . . a guy who is going into his ninth year would know if he’s being shopped or not.”
Maclin, who caught a career-low 44 passes last season, said the Chiefs didn’t ask him if he was willing to take a pay cut. He would have made $12.4 million in 2017. After his June 2 release, he signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Ravens.
A groin injury slowed Maclin in 2016, but if he puts that behind him he could return to his 87-catch form of two years ago.
“I’ve heard they thought I lost a step, my price tag was too high. Whatever the case may be, I’m ready to play some football. That flame that burns inside of a competitor, that thing got a lot brighter,” Maclin said.
The Ravens and Chiefs don’t face each other in the regular season, but in saving money the Chiefs might have strengthened a team that could keep them out of the playoffs.
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