The Kansas City Chiefs have brought back Justin Watson to the receiver corps on a two-year deal.
The Kansas City Chiefs were rumored to show interest in another veteran wide receiver before the draft, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, and they’ve done just that by bringing back Justin Watson on a two-year deal on Friday.
The Chiefs now have added both Richie James and Watson back in free agency before the 2023 NFL Draft, giving them a bit more security at the position before making their 10 scheduled selections in late April.
Justin Watson’s two-year deal with the #Chiefs is worth $3.5M with $1.4M guaranteed and $2.5M in escalators/incentives to potentially reach $6M in total, per source. A nice reward after Watson had 315 receiving yards and two touchdowns for KC last year.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 14, 2023
Watson joined the Chiefs last year for the first time after serving out his rookie contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He added another reliable target on offense while also providing some special teams support where he also returned a handful of punts.
For the Chiefs, it’s interesting to see them bringing back Watson on a multi-year deal considering that he signed just a year ago on a one-year contract. He showed some real chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes at times, but he finished the year with only 15 catches on 34 targets. He did average a very healthy 21 yards/catch so the Chiefs might be thinking of Watson as a player who could move the chains with greater experience in the offense.
More than anything, Watson gives the Chiefs a familiar face in a room that’s suffered a few losses in free agency—most notably Mecole Hardman to the Jets and JuJu Smith-Schuster to the Patriots.