After the first few days of free agency, the National Football League is not the same as it was a week ago. Russell Wilson is in Pittsburgh. The Titans are going all-in on veteran receivers. The Washington Commanders are spending like Dan Snyder's prime days. Kirk Cousins is now a southerner.
Amid the frenzy of signings—of players coming and going from one team to the next—a lot of answers have been found by teams searching to fill roster holes and depth concerns. But the Kansas City Chiefs? Well, some major questions still remain.
So far the Chiefs have taken care of their biggest item of note: a massive contract to keep Chris Jones in K.C. for the rest of his career. From there, they've just tinkered with minor re-signings and the import of a new punter and backup tight end.
When will the Chiefs fry the next big fish? What's going to happen to some of the bigger names? Let's look at the questions we're dying for answers to.
Will L'Jarius Sneed stay or leave?
The single biggest question on the table right now for the Chiefs just two days into the opening of free agency is one of two questions that were on the table a month or more ago when the first thoughts of the offseason began to enter the minds of Chiefs Kingdom. That question is: What will happen with cornerback L'Jarius Sneed?
Sneed was scheduled to hit free agency after a dynamite season in which he established himself as one of the league's true lockdown corners. That means he's scheduled to make a lot of money, but the Chiefs placed a franchise tag on him which limits his options in part.
The Chiefs at this point have freed up money—thanks to another Patrick Mahomes restructure—which gives them the financial flexibility to potentially keep Sneed one a one-year tag or a new long-term deal. They have, however, also given Sneed the chance to explore potential trades, which means he can negotiate a long-term deal with other teams.
If that sounds like mixed signals, you'd be right. The Chiefs sound like an organization that is both okay with losing Sneed or locking him up for the next few seasons. And if that's the case, then another team is going to have to either call their bluff and play the same level of hardball or pay a bit more to convince the Chiefs to move that direction.
Will we see a veteran wide receiver signing?
At this point, Chiefs Kingdom is debating every single pass catcher that comes up for grabs and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's because of an honest desperation stemming from a lack of current options at the position.
No Chiefs fan should be (or likely is) in panic mode because there's a long way to go before the active roster is set and Brett Veach and company deserve the benefit of the doubt. But these are key days in which the Chiefs have the ability to raise the floor of the offense with a proven pass catcher. It doesn't mean signing someone to be an all-world option—the new Tyreek!—but rather just someone proven who doesn't shirk routes, drop passes, or look confused in the midst of it all.
Mike Evans was a mirage. Dreams of Darnell Mooney came and went. Calvin Ridley? Taken. Gabe Davis? Gone. The same could happen soon for Hollywood Brown or Hunter Renfrow or Mike Williams or Odell Beckham Jr. or Josh Reynolds or Curtis Samuel or Tyler Boyd soon enough. There are 31 other sharks in the water, after all.
Remember it took two successive years to convince JuJu Smith-Schuster to sign and previous free agency seasons have included firm denials from Beckham, Reynolds, DeAndre Hopkins and more. The Chiefs typically play hardball with veteran receivers and the results, at least at the position, have been mixed.
Yes, the Chiefs won a Super Bowl with Rashee Rice, a handful of green Skittles, a rubber band ball, and a Mark Grace creased 1988 Topps rookie card last year at receiver. That doesn't mean it's wise to try that again.
Where's the buzz on Mike Danna?
From a Chiefs' perspective, we don't mean to complain about a lack of attention or buzz around Mike Danna. That's actually good for business for our own favorite team because a lack of commotion around a player means that the stock of that player might not be as expensive as we thought. Hence, is it possible to see Mike Danna back with the Chiefs in 2024?
From every other angle, however, we should be asking from the mountaintops: Why aren't teams in on Mike Danna? The guy is young and proven as a well-rounded edge who is a sponge for a coaching staff with an incredible work ethic. A former fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, he climbed the depth chart to become a starter on a Super Bowl winner and set career marks in numerous categories last year including 50 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
Danna will be 26 this season with plenty of prime years ahead yet he also comes with loads of championship experience. He's humble, goes about his work, seems a model teammate, and has given every indication that his best football is ahead of him.
Multiple teams should be circling with life-changing offers here and the fact that Danna is still available is a major missed opportunity for some franchise.