Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach is on the clock in the afterglow of their back-to-back Super Bowl Titles. With the NFL Combines on the horizon, it will be the first time he can have informal conversations with agents. What happens in Indianapolis will likely shape the Chiefs’ fortunes to become the first three-peat Super Bowl Champion.
A week ago, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. This week, General Manager Brett Veach is back at work trying to solve the dilemma of which of their 25 internal free agents they can keep.
Some notables include Chris Jones, Drue Tranquill, L’Jarius Sneed, Willie Gay, Jr., Nick Allegretti, Mike Danna, Tommy Townsend, and James Winchester. Veach can’t re-sign them all, but he can’t let a few of his high-priced free agents go to another NFL team.
He must also remember the plethora of impact-free agents that might want to join the Chief’s quest to be the first three-peat Super Bowl Champion. If agents and prospective free agents learned anything from the Chiefs 2023 and Super Bowl Title, if Patrick Mahomes is on the field, Kansas City will become Title Town USA!
If the Chiefs want to make it three in a row, here are five moves Veach needs to make.
Sign Chris Jones and Tag L’Jarius Sneed – The Chiefs and Jones likely laid the groundwork for a new deal. Jones was adamant at the parade he was not going anywhere, and I believe that to be the case. That will allow Veach to tag Sneed, who has clarified that he wants to get paid. Jones gets a three-year deal worth $80 million with $60M guaranteed. As for Sneed, I suspect a five-year contract worth $95M with $75 million guaranteed.
Sign Drue Tranquill and Tommy Townsend – The Chiefs are successful because they understand the value of glue guys. Tranquill won a Super Bowl because he decided to leave the Chargers, their losing ways, for a chance to play for the AFC Powerhouse. He was rewarded, and now he deserves to get paid. His deal should be a three-year $25 million with $18 million guaranteed. As for Townsend, he’ll become the highest-paid punter in the NFL.
Extend Travis Kelce and Joe Thuney, cut MVS – The biggest cap hits outside Patrick Mahomes include Kelce, Thuney, and MVS. I’m told that Kelce and Thuney will restructure and extend their contracts to create significant cap space in 2024 and 2025. However, what are they going to do with MVS? His cap hit is nearly $12M this season, but he’s also been a big reason Kansas City won back-to-back Super Bowls. Still, I suspect he’s a cap casualty in Veach’s eyes.
Sign Two Impact Offensive Free Agents – The Chiefs need a top-shelf stretch the field wide receiver. The Bengals Tee Higgins is my top choice, but Titans DeAndre Hopkins best fits Mahomes. If they had his speed and prowess on the field, they might not lose a game next season. However, the Titans must release him first. Once they solve wide receiver, they need to throw some money at free agent running back D’Andre Swift from the Eagles. He’s the missing link in KC’s running game. I love Isiah Pacheco, but he’s a north-south runner, and Swift can go side to side and has top-end speed. He’s Jamaal Charles 2.0 and would be a perfect addition to KC’s offense.
Include Mahomes in Roster Decisions – This might seem like an odd point to make, but the man has three Super Bowl Titles under his belt. He’s earned the right to be involved in every significant roster decision Veach and Head Coach Andy Reid make for the team. I’m sure Mahomes is already recruiting potential free agents, but he’s the franchise. Tom Brady went ten years between Super Bowls. The key reason the drought ended was because he began recruiting players to New England. Mahomes has earned the same latitude, considering he has the team’s most significant cap hit and the most flexibility to move money around.
It’s still early in the process, and Veach will likely land some impact players via the NFL Draft in April, but the team’s shape will likely come together at the NFL combine. With a chance to make NFL history, I wonder if Veach will be anything but aggressive in the next two months.
