JuJu Smith-Schuster, Trent Williams decisions change mystique around K.C. Chiefs

For the last couple offseason, there has been a general tone or attitude in the rhetoric referencing the K.C Chiefs. When it comes to being a favored destination among NFL players, it’s often referenced as the place to play if a player wants a Super Bowl ring and/or to play with the game’s best coach and players. It’s been well-earned, of course, after three successive AFC Championship appearances, two Super Bowl appearances, and one win. However, the first week of free agency has signaled a slight change in the aura surrounding the franchise.

The Chiefs aren’t alone at the top anymore.

Let’s be clear: The Chiefs remain a premiere destination for any player on either side of the ball. The Chiefs will likely be the betting favorite when the regular season arrives, and the team should expect to represent the AFC for a third consecutive season in the Super Bowl. None of that has changed at all, yet there has been a shift away from the overly confident swagger that marked this team one year ago. The  alone-at-the-top mystique is gone, a fog that disappeared when other teams forced themselves into the conversation.

So far in free agency, the Chiefs have swung and missed at two known high-profile targets: offensive tackle Trent Williams, who decided to stay with the San Francisco 49ers, and most recently wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who decided to remain loyal to Pittsburgh and the declining arm of Ben Roethlisberger to help further his career.

Here’s what is happening: when the offers are basically in the same ballpark, then then player has decided to go with the other team. The Chiefs were reportedly in the mix until the very end with Williams, but ultimately decided to stay with the 49ers. As for Smith-Schuster, he also chose Pittsburgh despite getting offers in the same general ballpark (or even greater) from two rival teams.

Both Williams and Smith-Schuster ended up giving quotes to reporters about home and loyalty, as if dancing with the ones who brought them means anything in the NFL. In a league in which so few even arrive at the big payday, it’s laughable to believe some sort of revisionist history in a player’s decision-making had anything to do with franchise loyalty. Let’s be clear, if either player is injured, the franchise won’t be giving any loyalty-laden quotes to reporters from their end.

At this point, the Chiefs can’t simply say, “Yeah, we’ll make that offer, too” and match whatever figure an agent presents to general manager Brett Veach. If they want that luxury, they’re going to need to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again. Instead, if the Chiefs want to fill roster concerns with the best remaining players in free agency (and that bar is lowering rather precipitously), then Veach is going to have to do what nearly every team does every year in free agency: overpay.

There will be bargains later on in the spring. There always are, and the Chiefs should do their best to claim those, too. But elite players who somehow wiggle free in free agency are few and far between and the Chiefs’ chances to land them are only as good as the NFL’s other preferred destinations. For some players like Kyle Long and Joe Thuney, it’s enough to be the Chiefs and make a competitive offer. However, that also means the Chiefs will lose out to other top-shelf franchises in the end, leaving them alone on the dance floor while players give meaningless quotes about loyalty.

Of course, Williams and Smith-Schuster chose to stay in a familiar place. The new one didn’t offer them anything they didn’t already have. “Incentives” aren’t enough to close the deal against teams who have similar reasons to be hopeful about the upcoming year. Unlike last year, the mystique has faded. The Chiefs are an excellent team, but the market has told them that they’re no longer better than everybody else.