The K.C. Chiefs made major news last week when they announced the release of both of their starting tackles, Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. Their release, paired with the pending free agent status of Austin Reiter, Mike Remmers, Kelechi Osemele, Stefen Wisniewski, Andrew Wylie, and Daniel Kilgore, have many Chiefs fans understandably worried about the unit that is in charge of protecting franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes. After all, if a team is poised to lose their top two tackles and 80% of their starting offensive line from the Super Bowl, that has to mean that the cupboards are bare and they are starting over from scratch. Right?
Well, in the Chiefs case, maybe not.
Now hear me out. I am not saying that the Chiefs can sit back with their feet up in free agency. The offensive line needs some new additions. However, I also believe that the Chiefs’ plan for rebuilding their offensive line may include some of the players they already have on the roster. I’ll be thrilled if they sign a quality starter in free agency or land a big time talent in the draft.
K,C. Chiefs have some internal options for offensive line help.
There’s no doubt that the Chiefs offensive line will look completely different from both the starting line-up at the beginning of last season and the one from the Super Bowl. That much is clear, but if you think that the majority of their starting lineup may come from free agency and the draft this year,you may be in for a surprise. I believe that anywhere from two to four of their starters on week one next season could be guys who are already Chiefs.
So I thought before NFL free agency officially kicks off this week, it might be a good idea to remind fans who the Chiefs already have to build around so that if the Chiefs don’t come out swinging for the fences in free agency, hopefully fans won’t start to panic. The Chiefs simply don’t have the resources to use all of their free agent budget and draft picks to completely rebuild the line from scratch.
So let’s take a look at who they already have that may be part of their plans moving forward and begin with the player in whom I have the most confidence as a starter next season.