7 Chiefs players who’ve (likely) played their final game in Kansas City

With another year comes another wave of players who have (likely) played their last snap for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Everything must come to an end and a Super Bowl run for the Kansas City Chiefs is not immune. Every year features turnover on NFL rosters across the league, and that includes saying goodbye to some of a franchise’s most beloved veterans as well as marginal talents who fans are likely glad to see leave town.

This year might be a bit tougher when it comes to the departures of some players considering that they not only delivered on another championship, but many of these have been a part of the golden era of Chiefs football for a long time. For long-suffering fans in K.C., these players are the ones who delivered the goods, even in small batches, and it’d be great to see everyone stay as long as they like—like Thanksgiving dinner at grandma’s house.

Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works and the door is going to close on several Chiefs in the next few weeks as a new league year begins. For some, it will be their decision. For others, it will be all about finances. But the NFL is a business and no one can lose sight of that—fans included.

Juan Thornhill

Let’s start with a banger.

To be clear, the Chiefs secondary really came into its late in the year as a young secondary pulled together with greater chemistry and communication and Thornhill’s play was a big part of the team’s success on defense. By the time the confetti was raining at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, the trio of Thornhill, Justin Reid, and Bryan Cook had formed an impressive and versatile core for Steve Spagnuolo to lean on.

In a perfect world, the Chiefs would be able to bring back Thornhill and keep everyone in place, but in the NFL, the cap requires teams to think years ahead when drafting and there’s a reason the Chiefs went with a second-round safety with plenty of other glaring needs in the 2022 NFL Draft. The goal was to give Bryan Cook a year as an experienced understudy while the Chiefs still had a single season left of their last second-round safety.

Thornhill played over 1,000 snaps last year and matched his career high with 3 interceptions—and set a few more career marks with passes defended (9), tackles (71), and tackles for loss (4). A 27-year-old safety with two Super Bowl rings and impressive production will enjoy a nice payday in free agency. Furthermore, any questions about his ACL injury from 2019 are long gone, as he’s played in 65 games in the last four seasons.

General manager Brett Veach telegraphed this move a year ago, and while the Chiefs often play three-safety looks, it makes more sense to import another draft pick and keep the unit younger and cheaper. That is, unless Thornhill just wants to stay at home and enjoy the success at a steep discount.