The Kansas City Chiefs have signed safety Tyrann Mathieu in free agency as they continue to remake the defense for Steve Spagnuolo.
The Kansas City Chiefs have finally made their first major effort to remake the secondary this offseason with the announcement of the addition of safety Tyrann Mathieu.
Terez Paylor has the final total at three years and $42 million total for Mathieu’s contract, although a breakdown of guaranteed money is not yet known.
Mathieu begins the reconstruction of a secondary that gave the Chiefs fits last year. The Chiefs have dealt with a perilously thin depth chart at safety that actually has better performers on special teams and in backup duty than any of the actual starters. Much of this is due to Eric Berry‘s inability to remain healthy and effective on the field as he’s dealt with both a torn Achilles in 2017 and a sore heel and bone spur in 2018.
Mathieu should slot in immediately next to Berry in the starting line-up if the latter can get healthy. If not, the Chiefs will enjoy Mathieu as a starting fixture next to other options like Eric Murray, Jordan Lucas and Armani Watts, a rookie from last year who was injured for the majority of the year.
Mathieu played last season with the Houston Texans and started all 16 games in a strong season that proved he could remain healthy for the second year in a row. The Texans wanted to retain him this offseason and there was reportedly mutual interest, but the Chiefs also came on strong and clearly won out in the end.
Mathieu had 89 total tackles, 8 passes defended, 3 sacks and 2 interceptions for the Texans. Still only 26-years-old, Mathieu has 13 career interceptions.