Grading the Chiefs defensive free agent signings from 2022

Deon Bush, Safety

When the Chiefs originally signed Deon Bush in late March of last year, it was expected that he would compete to rotate in with Justin Reid and Juan Thornhill, but that wasn’t the case. Even though his role on defense was very limited, only playing around 70 snaps throughout the entire season, he excelled on Dave Toub’s special teams unit.

According to Pro Football Focus ($), Deon Bush played the most snaps of any player on special teams with around 373 snaps logged throughout the regular season and postseason.

Even though he saw little on defense, Bush still paid dividends as he logged at least 14 special team snaps in 19 of 20 games, missing one game due to injury. Given his relatively small cap hit, just over $1 million, he was a very good signing by Brett Veach and played an underrated role throughout the season.

The Grade: B-

Justin Reid, Safety

In an offseason where the Kansas City Chiefs seemingly hit a hard reset on their finances (cap-wise), Justin Reid earned the largest contract among all free agents that the team brought in. He earned a 3-year, $31.5 million contract.

After a shaky first couple of months in the regular season, Reid turned his game around in December and finally became the player the Chiefs that he could be for their team. Although he did not record an interception, he played well in coverage down the stretch and also improved his run defense late in the season.

If you had asked me what I thought of the Justin Reid signing at the bye week, I would have said that it was mediocre at best. Today, though I don’t view it as a grand slam of a move, this was a good addition by Brett Veach. Justin Reid served as a veteran leader in a secondary filled with rookies and he will continue to be a leader for a defense that hopes to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 2023-24.

The Grade: B