With legal tampering set to begin Monday morning, the Kansas City Chiefs have two choices regarding free agency: either be aggressive or wait until teams run out of excess funds.
I never fully understood the legal tampering period in NFL free agency. Essentially, you can communicate with agents but not with players. You can discuss general figures but not specifics, much like general managers’ conversations with agents at the NFL Combine.
Fortunately for the Kansas City Chiefs fan base, few do it better than Brett Veach. Under his leadership, the team has won three of the last six Super Bowl titles and has remained competitive throughout the Patrick Mahomes era.
There’s no question that the Chiefs’ most significant need is to fill the left tackle position. With the trade of guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears and, at this stage, last year’s opening-day starter at left tackle, Kingsley Suamataia, at left guard in 2025, I can’t see the Chiefs drafting a rookie starter at left tackle.
One name associated with the Chiefs is Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Staley. However, acquiring him from the AFC North powerhouse will not be easy.
— Chiefs Blitz (@ChiefsBlitz) March 5, 2025
UPDATE
The #Chiefs will target Ronnie Stanley who is the best left tackle available on the market, sources tell @ByNateTaylor and @TheAthletic. pic.twitter.com/Cd6u7MwLqW
Still, suppose he wants to win a championship ring. In that case, Kansas City provides the best opportunity he is likely to get, especially since the Ravens have not shown their capability to win consecutive postseason games during the Lamar Jackson era.
At 30 years old, signing him comes with some risk, but it’s reasonable to believe he has two or three productive years ahead. However, he has also faced injury issues, and last season, no team was more impacted by them than the Chiefs.
However, Kansas City does not have a solution for that position on its roster, and based on our observations from the Super Bowl, Stanley stands out as a reliable choice.
With Suamataia starting at left guard, it makes perfect sense to have two veteran players, Staley and Creed Humphrey, support him on either side.
Nevertheless, the price point is expected to be high, and Veach risks entering a bidding war with the Ravens. Kansas City made a strong effort to acquire San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams and believed the deal was finalized, but he reconsidered his decision.
Veach has rebuilt the Chiefs’ offensive line once, but doing it again may prove challenging. Two years ago, he invested significantly in left tackle Jawaan Taylor. To say that the jury is still out on that signing is putting it mildly. With penalties, including false starts, and his difficulties in leveraging against quicker pass rushers, the Chiefs are committed to him through the 2025 season.
This could be a two-year rebuild. If Suamataia excels at the guard position and the Chiefs re-sign Trey Smith to a long-term deal, they will be in great shape. Kansas City has already secured a long-term contract for center Creed Humphrey.
Once more, Stanley would be the best tackle the Chiefs have had since Orlando Brown Jr. replaced him in Baltimore while he was injured and in Kansas City. Since then, the team has experienced a revolving door of inconsistency and injuries.
Kansas City has other needs but also has several in-house free agents it wishes to re-sign. However, the available cap space is limited.
Over the weekend, information will surface before the alarms sound off on Monday morning. While teams cannot officially announce signings until Wednesday, these deals often leak like a faucet running wide open during the tampering period.
If we hear Staley’s name coming from that faucet before Wednesday, it can only mean the Chiefs were aggressive in their quest to return to the Super Bowl.
