Why the KC Chiefs don’t have to re-sign anyone this offseason
The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions for the second time in four years. The Lombardi Trophy is home in Kansas City. The parade was a fantastic celebration. The bank accounts of Chiefs fans everywhere are a little lower from all the Super Bowl merchandise we’ve been buying and the Chiefs haters are gnashing their teeth and posting ridiculous things on social media. Basically, life is about as good as it gets for a sports fan. So naturally, instead of soaking in the moment, we are already starting to think about the next season.
My routine every year as the Chiefs season comes to an end is to first look at K.C.’s salary cap situation and their pending free agents. While this post isn’t really about the salary cap, I’ll just say that the Chiefs have things that they can do to create the space they need. They are also projected to have 12 draft picks once comp picks are announced, including five picks in the first four rounds.
While cap space and draft picks are great, it’s not even close to the biggest reason that Chiefs fans should be excited. The core of their Super Bowl-winning team is intact and under contract already and Chiefs GM Brett Veach has proven that he can fill out a roster with draft picks and under-the-radar free agent signings. That’s why there aren’t any players that the Chiefs need to feel obligated to give a big payday this offseason.
That’s not to say that some of their pending free agents aren’t important. The Chiefs are set to potentially lose both of their starting tackles, Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie. Three of their key contributors at wide receiver, Juju Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and Justin Watson are set to be free agents. Jerick McKinnon was an essential part of their running back rotation. Pretty much every defensive tackle not named Chris Jones is going to be a free agent. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap was an important rotational player and will be a free agent. Juan Thornhill and Deon Bush will create a shortage at safety. They’re also poised to lose important depth along the offensive line and at tight end.
That’s a lot of work to do for Brett Veach. However, I just don’t see a single player on that list that the Chiefs need to overpay to keep. Left tackle is the most important spot to fill and it currently doesn’t look like there will be many options there available. Last offseason Brown wasn’t willing to sign a reasonable deal, he wanted to break the bank. If that is the case again, then the Chiefs should franchise tag him again. Just this week the Athletic’s Nate Taylor said that is actually what is expected to happen. Brown is probably the only player on this list that they need to make sure doesn’t walk. However, they still shouldn’t overpay him. He’s a solid starting left tackle and you need that, but he isn’t consistent enough to make the highest-paid left tackle in the NFL.
The Chiefs will also need to make sure they have a starting right tackle, but you can get by with an average starter there. The Chiefs proved that last season with Wylie as the starter. If he’ll sign a deal that pays him league-average right tackle money, fine, but if he wants to maximize this chance to sign with the highest bidder you let him walk and find the next Andrew Wylie. I trust that Veach can find someone of similar talent as Wylie without overpaying for it. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to spend an early pick on a tackle that could both challenge for the starting right tackle spot next season and be insurance if they don’t sign Brown to a long-term deal.
The big picture here is that the Chiefs don’t need to overpay for the tackle position even if it is the biggest hole to fill on the roster. Now let’s talk about the wide receiver position for a minute.