One of the Kansas City Chiefs’ most highly-anticipated impending free agents, as we enter the offseason, is none other than Tyrann Mathieu. For better or worse, he has become a polarizing figure among Chiefs fans because of his personality combined with his on-field play.
Mathieu may or may not still be around by the time everything is said and done, but he will likely be remembered fondly for his contributions that led the team to their first Super Bowl win in 50 years. That said, People have probably already come to a conclusion about what they want the Chiefs to do with Mathieu and some have even started to dislike Mathieu because of his social media antics that have indicated he is one foot out the door.
Is Tyrann Mathieu back for KC Chiefs in 2022?
Many likely thought that Mathieu would’ve been signed to a contract extension a long time ago, but as time has passed and we’ve gotten closer to the expiration of his deal, the tone has shifted and it does not seem to be a slam-dunk that Mathieu is back.
You might even be able to go as far as to say if the Chiefs truly wanted Mathieu back that something would have already gotten done by now. If you’ve been reading the tea leaves, though, a new contract for Mathieu from the Chiefs appears a lot more unlikely than originally thought.
We don’t know if that’s because Mathieu wants too much or if the Chiefs don’t think Mathieu is worth any huge amount of money going forward as he enters his mid-thirties. Could be a number of reasons.
There’s a case to be made on both sides for Tyrann Mathieu to stay or go so we’ll present both sides of the equation and go from there to predict whether or not he will be a member of the Kansas City Chiefs going forward.
Why bring him back?
The case to bring Mathieu back is pretty simple. He’s been an All-Pro level player for the majority of his time here and he has been the vocal leader of the secondary since his arrival.
Mathieu serves as the pseudo secondary coordinator and we saw how big of a difference there is when he is and isn’t out there as recently as the Buffalo Bills game in the divisional round. After he went out with a concussion on the first drive the middle of the field was open all night and a lot of guys in the secondary were out of place.
Mathieu overall has been a huge part of the defense and will certainly go down as one of the best free agency signings in the organization’s history. After everything he’s done, it seems like a no-brainer to sign him to a new contract. He said he wants to be here. I mean, why wouldn’t they?
If they let him go then they’re obviously going to have to spend big resources to replace him so if you are going to do that you may as well just bring back Mathieu, right?
Why let him go?
This brings us to the case of letting Mathieu go. For a lot of us, it got to a point where it seemed like Mathieu was surely gone because of the fact nothing had gotten done and Mathieu would talk in absolutes on Twitter that he isn’t going to be here. There was just a certain vibe around the situation that he wasn’t going to be here.
If I had to take a crack at why Mathieu and the Chiefs may part ways it’s simply because he wants a lot of money and the Chiefs don’t think he will be worth it as he continues to age. I’m not saying that I agree with it or that it’s right but that’s what I’d bet. His production did dip a bit this year, and he didn’t make very many clutch plays down the stretch when the Chiefs needed them.
In that case, it does give the Chiefs the most flexibility. They could even tag and trade Mathieu to get some assets back. They might also want to get younger at the position and think there’s a free agent out there that could make their defense more physically imposing. This free-agent class for safeties will likely include names such as Jessie Bates and Marcus Williams who both possess coveted skill sets and are substantially younger than Mathieu.
On the other hand, the Chiefs could just save money altogether and see what’s available in the draft at the position so they can invest in other positions that are high on their list.
The possibilities are endless if you let Mathieu go elsewhere whereas you could be strapped for cash if the Chiefs give him somewhere around $20 million per year. We will have to see which path the Chiefs go, but both scenarios are certainly in play.
Recommendation
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.