Kansas City Chiefs 2020 Roster: A Look at the Inside Linebackers

Brett Veach made it a point to improve the inside linebacker position for the Chiefs. How does this unit look a few years from now?

For the past 13 years whenever someone mentioned the inside linebacker position for Kansas City, the first name which came to mind was future Chiefs Ring of Honor member Derrick Johnson. Even with the superb pass defense, Johnson still brought to the team, Brett Veach had decided it was time to get younger at the position.

Veach’s first move indicating his intentions was when he traded for former Buffalo Bills linebacker Reggie Ragland. Ragland was still recovering from a torn ACL when he came to Kansas City, but once he was cleared to play he quickly made his way into the starting lineup. Even with the addition of Ragland the Chiefs still struggled against the run all season. Kansas City finished towards the bottom of the league in run defense at 25^th overall.

Veach proceeded to attack free agency to fill the void he had made next to Ragland. When free agency officially opened, the Chiefs announced they had signed Anthony Hitchens from the Dallas Cowboys to a whopping five-year $45 million deal. A contract of this size surprised many fans since the general reaction was, “Who in the world?” Hitchens new contract was top five for inside linebackers, which instantly put him in the company of players like Luke Kuechly, Eric Kendricks, Bobby Wagner, and Mark Barron.

Adding both Ragland and Hitchens to the team gave Kansas City a legitimate tandem at the inside linebacker position for the future, or did it? Looking at the roster as it currently stands in 2020 we can see Ragland’s contract ends at the end of the 2019 season. Which leaves Kansas City with Hitchens, Dorian O’Daniel, Ukeme Eligwe, Ben Niemann, and Raymond Davison III as the inside linebackers on the roster. Now O’Daniel is listed as a linebacker, but the chances of him playing there at the moment are slim.

More from Arrowhead Addict

O’Daniel played at Clemson at a much smaller weight of 215, which leaves one to think he will be playing safety. Eligwe showed some flashes in preseason last year as a rookie. Snagging an interception and making 16 tackles in his short time playing. This small sample size is not enough to go on, which makes it hard to see him taking Ragland’s spot next to Hitchens.

There is also no guarantee Hitchens will be here either. When looking at Hitchens contract, we can see there is a team option after the 2019 season. In essence, Hitchens signed a two year $21.5 million contract. Is this a lot for a player has not proven to be an elite player at his position? No doubt. The fact Veach gave himself this out means he is prepared for things not to work out. This contract structure is a refreshing approach from the John Dorsey era which Kansas City is still paying off.

If the Chiefs were to move on from Hitchens, then the importance of keeping Ragland would skyrocket. The problem with this is Veach set the standard for new linebacker contracts. No one is going to argue Hitchens is an elite linebacker, but since he has signed his contract we are starting to see other non-elite linebackers get similar money. The recent example of this is Benardrick McKinney who signed a five year $51,163,880 deal with the Houston Texans.

McKinney’s contract came with a total of $21 million in guarantees over the lifetime of the deal, which is very similar to Hitchens who has a total of $21.29 million in guaranteed money over his contract. With an ever-rising cap, this was bound to happen. The problem is the Chiefs have so many free agents need new deals at the end of the 2019 season. With Tyreek Hill, Kendall Fuller, Chris Jones all free agents at the same time as Ragland, Veach is in a bit of a bind. Add in the fact the Chiefs will more than likely be looking to extend Patrick Mahomes around the same time.

Suddenly the projected $61 million in cap space does not seem like much money anymore. We are taking into account the big name players on the roster. The Chiefs will be losing quality depth over the next few years as well. Demarcus Robinson, Parker Ehinger, Steven Nelson, Chris Conley, Eric Murray, Demetrius Harris, Charchandrick West, Spencer Ware, Anthony Sherman, Mitch Morse, Frank Zombo, De’Anthony Thomas, and more all become free agents within the next two seasons.

Next: 6 surprise cuts the Chiefs could make

The deeper we dive into this series, the more apparent it is becoming the next few drafts for Kansas City are critical. If Mahomes is as advertised, he will be able to cover up some of these deficiencies on the team. Which is something I would preferably not bank on. Veach has a tremendous task over the next few years keeping the nucleus of this team together.

Home/Kansas City Chiefs News