5 Chiefs who won’t be back in 2022
By Scott Loring
One positive trend that has developed from the current administration at One Arrowhead Drive is that they do not hesitate to get to work at repairing personnel issues in the offseason, and when they do it, they subscribe to the “go big or go home” method.
In the spring of 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs were reeling after a loss in the AFC Championship Game. Brett Veach and Andy Reid went to work on the team’s biggest problem, firing defensive coordinator Bob Sutton and gutting their defense. Veach unloaded defensive cornerstones Justin Houston, Eric Berry, and Dee Ford en route to a successful remodel of the defense from front to back.
After an embarrassing loss to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV that we will not talk about here, it was no secret that the Chiefs’ biggest issue was on their offensive line. Veach did not pull any punches, as he offloaded two revered team leaders in Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. He then pursued (Trent Williams), signed (Joe Thuney), traded for (Orlando Brown) and drafted (Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith) all new starters in one of the most impressive overhauls of any offensive line in league history.
Fast forward to present day: With the most brutal stretch of the 2021 season out of the way, the Kansas City Chiefs are licking their wounds at 2-3 after their most recent loss, a 38-20 drubbing at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. Perhaps one of the most frustrating parts of the Chiefs losses is that each has come at the hands of prominent AFC contenders, thus pinning the Chiefs further from any shot at a home game in the playoffs. The Chiefs have no shortage of problems on either side of the ball, but at this juncture, the structure of the team is almost completely set.
Looking to the future, we can safely project that Veach will not be content with the current defense that the Chiefs are fielding. There are multiple concerns in all three phases of the Chiefs’ defense, and while there are a few positive moves that could potentially make things better – getting Chris Jones back, getting Willie Gay more involved as the season goes along, getting Juan Thornhill more snaps – the writing is on the wall for some other Chiefs players. Here’s a little glance into our crystal ball at five players who won’t be back in 2022.