KC Chiefs free agent profile: Will Tyrann Mathieu return in 2022?

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The Chiefs have some big decisions to make with the defense in several areas this offseason and Brett Veach acknowledged that in his press conference earlier this week.

If you listened to that press conference closely, Veach said that the team’s priority was to re-sign Orlando Brown. Of course, he mentioned Mathieu and that the team likes him and would like to keep him, but actions speak louder than words and Veach’s words about Mathieu weren’t all that loud either. You would think Mathieu has earned the right to be the team’s priority over Brown.

It’s hard to imagine the defense is significantly better than it was this year if the team moves on from Mathieu. There would be massive shoes to fill. He’s been a big part of the team’s culture, but Veach has made some tough moves in the past and refrained from hurting feelings. We all saw what happened with Eric Berry and the Chiefs paid him for past performance when it was probably time to move on and they just don’t want the same to happen with Mathieu.

I really do feel like this is it for the Chiefs and Mathieu. Something would’ve gotten done otherwise. Rarely does a player get to this point and stay with the team that allowed negotiations to drag out this long.

I understand why the Chiefs would want to move in a different direction and they’ve typically been pretty good at knowing it was time to move on since Veach has taken the reigns. Bashaud Breeland, Eric Fisher, and Dee Ford all come to mind. In most of those situations, though, the Chiefs made a big move to replace said player.

Bold Prediction:

The Kansas City Chiefs don’t re-sign Tyrann Mathieu and instead sign free agent safety Marcus Williams to 3-year $53 million deal.