The Kansas City Chiefs have a number of free agents at wide receiver, which makes the continuity at the position something to watch in 2025. Alongside Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and DeAndre Hopkins, the Chiefs also have a choice to make on Justin Watson.
The Chiefs have enjoyed having Justin Watson around for the last three seasons as a somewhat-used offensive target who can also play special teams and generally does anything the coaches ask of him.
After signing him away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the completion of his rookie contract, the Chiefs chose to give Watson a minor two-year agreement to stay a second and third season in Kansas City—a deal that is now complete at the turn of the new league year for 2025.
Watson is now 29 years old and coming into his eighth NFL season. According to Tony Pauline, the Chiefs reportedly want to bring him back for one more year, but finances might be a problem. Here's exactly what Pauline wrote: "I'm told they'd like to bring receiver Justin Watson back, but they informed his agent they do not have the money to do so."
Something isn't adding up with the latest rumor about Justin Watson and the Chiefs.
Here's where the report gets confusing. Watson wouldn't have any issues extending his NFL career even if he were to hit the open market. He's an experienced wideout who is a core-four special teams player with three Super Bowl rings and even more experience than that in the big game. Several teams would love to add him to the wide receiver room as a coach's favorite and positive influence.
That said, Watson is also not expensive. The Chiefs signed him to a $3.4M deal over two years, and it's hard to imagine he would now command anything over $2M for a single season going forward. If the Chiefs needed to make the room, the release of Skyy Moore would take care of that amount without any other considerations.
Watson had 28 catches for 289 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in 2024 for the Chiefs, and it feels like his value to them is greater than it would be to other teams. But there's no reason for the team to bid against itself in some sort of overpriced bottom-of-the-depth-chart signing. That's not intended to slight or devalue Watson at all. He's valuable to the team and appreciated by the fans.
Spotrac, however, has Watson's market value at $1.7 million for this offseason, and that makes sense as he nears age 30. Given his usage, position, and history, the Chiefs should have no problem being able to bring back Watson on another modest deal if they really want him. The idea that the desire is there and not the finances just feels confusing from the outside looking in.