Free Agency, Draft Needs and More

Like it or not, the Kansas City Chiefs are back at the top of the NFL mountain. Things looked ugly at various points of Super Bowl LVIII, but Patrick Mahomes and company pulled it together and claimed another Lombardi Trophy for Chiefs Kingdom. The franchise that once couldn’t avoid shooting itself in the foot is now tied for the third-most titles in league history.

But staying at the top is tough in a salary-cap world; the financial rules and draft order aim to preserve some form of parity in the league. And the Chiefs are not immune to those challenges.

Let’s take a look at the club’s looming free agents and try to consider what the latest retool could look like.

Who Are the Chiefs 2024 Free Agents?

While it’s cliché to say that players would want to suit up for the defending champs (and alongside Mahomes), goodwill can only take you so far. Contracts are contracts, and they’re set to expire at a certain date. The Chiefs aren’t exempt from that reality.

Once the offseason begins, the club will see the following players hit the open market:

• Nick Allegretti
• Blake Bell
• Deon Bush
• Michael Danna
• Mike Edwards
• Clyde Edwards-Helaire
• Blaine Gabbert
• Willie Gay Jr.
• Mecole Hardman
• Richie James
• Chris Jones
• Jerick McKinnon
• Derrick Nnadi
• Donovan Smith
• L’Jarus Sneed
• Tommy Townsend
• Drue Tranquill
• Prince Tega Wanogho
• James Winchester

Beyond that, there are some smaller-name players bound for exclusive-rights free agency or restricted free agency. They are:

• Mike Caliendo
• Jack Cochrane
• Jody Fortson
• Malik Herring
• Nazeeh Johnson

Jones has been an anchor on KC’s defensive line, and he’s proven that he can be a legitimate game-breaker. His contract demands, however, could be a problem. The 2023 campaign began with a holdout, suggesting that he’ll once again be after top dollar. Can the Chiefs afford to keep him?

Sneed, who emerged as a lockdown cornerback, is also out of a contract. He’ll require a significant raise, but should be more affordable than Jones. You’d assume that a combination of factors—his comparative affordability, his age and the challenge of finding a player who can travel with the opposition’s top receiver—would make him an offseason priority, but there’s no telling what happens on the open market. Maybe another team comes in with an outlandish offer that the Chiefs simply can’t afford to match.

Kansas City’s 2023 campaign was, at least in part, a victory for depth. While the receiver room was comparatively barren, players stepped up at other positions. Tranquill, for example, stepped in when Nick Bolton and Gay Jr. went down injured. Allegretti came in for Joe Thuney during the final postseason push. Hardman didn’t make much of an impact after returning to Arrowhead, but stepped up in the Super Bowl.

Through that lens, the free agent class also looms large. No one is going to get excited about a backup offensive lineman, for example, but the guys down the depth chart can and do matter when the chips are down.

How Much Cap Space Do the Chiefs Have?

It was alluded earlier about the hard salary cap and how clubs have to build a roster without exceeding a certain amount of spending. Well, how do the Chiefs fare in that regard?

Based on Over The Cap’s numbers, KC has just over $24 million in breathing room for the 2024 season. Their effective cap space, however, which estimates the cost of signing rookies and filling out a roster sits a bit lower at $15.75 million.

While that’s not an awful number—some teams are already over the cap—it does represent a challenge. Someone like Jones is probably seeking something around $30 million per year. Even if the Chiefs could create that space, it’s fair to question the logic of spending all of your available cash on one big fish.

But, on the subject of cap space, the club could restructure Mahomes’ massive contract. Without getting into the nuts and bolts, that process provides KC with somewhere in the neighborhood of $37 million in extra cap space.

Beyond that, there are more ordinary contractual moves. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, for example, will probably be cut to save some cash.

Again, that’s not a blank check to re-sign every player; some tough choices will have to be made. With that being said, though, it should give general manager Brett Veach a bit more firepower.

Chiefs Free Agency and Draft Needs

While the offense managed to pull things together down the stretch, Kansas City’s biggest offseason need remains clear: a true, top-tier wide receiver. Travis Kelce is an all-world talent, but he’s getting older and finds himself at the center of opposition game plans. Rashee Rice showed potential down the stretch, but most of his success came on shorter routes and runs after the catch. The Chiefs may have evolved past being a big-play offense, but there’s still value to someone who can stretch the defense; even if they don’t make the catch, they’ll create space underneath for Kelce and Rice.

Thankfully for those at Arrowhead, options are out there. If the club prefers to chase a proven player in free agency, the likes of Mike Evans, Michael Pittman Jr., Tee Higgins and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown are at the end of their respective contracts.

But it’s also worth noting that the 2024 NFL draft is deep at wide receiver. Winning the Super Bowl doesn’t exactly set you up for drafting big-name players, but finding a capable wideout at the end of the first round should be doable.

Beyond the receiver position, the club’s approach will probably be guided by how their own internal contract situation unfolds. If multiple linebackers leave town, for example, it would be logical to select a replacement at that position; the same can be said for defensive linemen. And while it’s never the most exciting position to fill, KC could continue to bolster the offensive line, especially at the tackle positions.

What Does That Mean for KC?

At the risk of both painting with a broad brush and trying to predict the future, the Chiefs are going to have to undergo another retool. It’s unlikely that the pendulum will swing completely back to the offensive side of things, but it’s certainly possible that both the offense and the defense will be a bit more equal next season.

On the former side of the ball, Mahomes, Isiah Pacheco, Kelce and Rice are a strong core, but the 2023 season showed that you can’t rely on No. 15 to singlehandedly lift everyone up around him. There has to be a supporting cast, and it’s tough to imagine Veach refusing to address the receiver room in a meaningful way.

Moving to the latter, the defense will probably take a slight step back. Jones has proven to be an impact player and losing him, even if it’s ultimately the right decision, will hurt in the short term. George Karlaftis has grown into a capable pass-rusher, but it remains to be seen how he’ll perform as the main man up front.

It’s also possible that Jones’ departure will place more stress on the Chiefs’ strong secondary. Are players like Sneed (assuming he returns) and Trent McDuffie tough defenders? Of course, but maybe they’ll be more exposed if KC’s pass rush evaporates.

But if there’s a silver lining for the back-to-back champs (or bad news for the rest of the league), it’s that Kansas City has shown the ability to roll with the roster-based punches and evolve. Take the 2023 offseason as an example of that; Veach didn’t find the offensive value he wanted, so he brought in Charles Omenihu, Tranquill and Edwards to beef up the defense. And while seeing the Chiefs win through ball control and limiting the opposition seemed jarring, that strategy led to a Super Bowl title.

And, if nothing else, KC has the ultimate trump card: Mahomes. With No. 15 on the roster, there’s never too much of a reason to panic.