Why a shortened NFL season would hurt the Kansas City Chiefs
We explore what a COVID-shortened season would mean for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the face of a global pandemic, the National Football League is adamant that the 2020 regular season will continue without a hitch, but what happens to the Kansas City Chiefs if the season is shortened or even canceled?
To be honest, I think either would be a loss for the Chiefs.
If the season is outright cancelled, it is an obvious loss. The Chiefs would lose a year of their core players’ careers, in their prime, with a legitimate chance to win a second consecutive Super Bowl in sight. These types of teams do not come around every year—as Chiefs fans are well aware of—so any risk that we miss out on a season of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill on offense and Frank Clark, Chris Jones and Tyrann Mathieu on defense is a net loss for the franchise, the city and Chiefs Kingdom.
If the season is shortened, the calculus is different (obviously) but the result is the same. The Chiefs also lose if the season is shorter. The primary reason this is true is because of team depth, and the quality of their coaching and general manager.
Every team will have to deal with injuries, tired players, plugging in guys off the street, et cetera during the course of the season. Last year, the Chiefs proved adept at doing so with integral acquisitions like offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski (who started the Super Bowl), defensive tackle Mike Pennel, and defensive end Terrell Suggs. A shortened season means that the Chiefs ability to do this, masterfully, is less of an advantage because there will be less injuries and less players worn down at season’s end. One could argue that the quality of the Chiefs midseason acquisitions in 2019 was the reason the team won Super Bowl LIV.
The Kingdom should be rooting, hard, for a complete season of Chiefs football. Anything less is bad for Kansas City.
Reader Question
Each week, we’ll answer a question or two from readers about our team. These can be about any topic related to the Chiefs, send me a question via DM (@kthomps58).
This week’s question comes from a reader who wished to remain anonymous who asks: What will the defensive end rotation look like for Kansas City in 2020?
I think that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo believes he knows that the starting defensive ends in 2020 will be the same as they were in 2019: Frank Clark and Alex Okafor. What happens after that remains a mystery, likely even to the team at this point.
The CHiefs lost 2019 key contributor Emmanuel Ogbah in free agency, and as of now, Terrell Suggs remains a free agent (and likely will through training camp). The team will receive a boost in 2018 second round pick Breeland Speaks back from injured reserve, the signing of former first round pick Taco Charlton, and the drafting of fifth round pick Michael Danna. The team also returns 2017 second round pick Tanoh Kpassagnon and second-year players Demone Harris and Tim Ward to the roster battle.
Kansas City is unlikely to carry more than five defensive ends on the final roster, and in fact carried four in most of 2019 and only three into Super Bowl LIV. One would think that Kpassagnon is a near lock to make the roster, not only because he had an excellent 2019 but also because he has the ability to play both inside and outside—valuable versatility the team covets. If I were guessing, I’d say that Danna goes to the practice squad with Harris and Ward, while one of either Speaks or Charlton makes the roster and the other is either traded or cut before the season begins.
Chiefs Trivia
Each week’s column will feature a trivia question related to the Kansas City Chiefs. Challenge yourself by coming up with the correct response without looking it up! Enter for a chance to win a Chiefs prize via either Facebook or Twitter Direct/Private Messaging. Must retweet or share the column on your personal page, and provide the correct answer via PM/DM, to be eligible. Winner will be chosen at random on Saturday.
Last week’s winner was Lori Richardson who received a Larry Johnson autograph for correctly identifying LJ’s original number with Kansas City as #34.
This week’s question trivia is: What former Kansas City Chiefs running back has the all-time NFL record for career average with a 5.4 yards per carry average?
NFL Story of the Week
The National Football League has cancelled the first game of the 2020 season, the Hall of Fame game, which was to have been played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys in Canton, Ohio on August 6, 2020. This decision comes as the numbers of positive COVID-19 tests has once again been soaring across the nation. Not only are states re-implementing many of their lockdown protocols, but many are also implementing mandatory mask policies for the first time. The NFL has now given the first indication that its season, too, is in jeopardy.
At this point, it seems quite obvious that no one has any idea if any major sports season will start, or more questionably finish, a season in 2020. Certainly the MLB and NBA are ramping up as if they’ll throw out a first pitch and hold the first tipoff later this month; and yes, the NFL has stated that training camps will still start on time despite the cancellation of the season’s first game. But, this cancellation is not “nothing” from Roger Goodell and the league.
No one knows how the next several months will play out in the sports world (or anywhere else), but one thing is clear – the season is very much in doubt.
Chiefs Fact of the Week
Hank Stram was Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt’s third choice to be the head coach of his expansion franchise Dallas Texans in the upstart American Football League that he founded to begin play in 1960. Hunt offered the job first to Tom Landry, who chose instead to take over as the first head coach of a different expansion team in Dallas, the Cowboys; and Bud Wilkinson, who chose to remain the head coach at Oklahoma University instead.
Chiefs Record of the Week
Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas holds the Chiefs record for career forced fumbles with 41. Tamba Hali is second, with 33 forced fumbles.
Random Fact of the Week
Two of President John Tyler’s grandsons are still alive today—and he was born in 1790. How is this possible? President Tyler, the 10th US president, was 63 when his son Lyon Tyler was born in 1853. Lyon’s sons were born when he was 71 and 75. President Tyler’s living grandsons, Lyon Jr. and Harrison Tyler, are 91 and 95 years old. The Tyler family still maintains the President’s home, Sherwood Forest Plantation, in Virginia.
Sports Quote of the Week
“When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction. The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance. We have the right to fight back! ” ~Colin Kaepernick
Oddball Sport of the Week
Joggling – “For most amateur athletes, the idea of running 400 meters in under a minute might be daunting. Compared to the world record of 43.18 seconds, however, a 56-second 400 is hardly Olympic-caliber. Running that fast while juggling, however, is a different story entirely. Enter the odd world of joggling: Running as fast as possible while juggling three balls.”