It’s been a busy week for Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach. First, he extended the contract of All-Pro Guard Trey Smith, signed second-round holdout, Omarr Norton-Lott, and today he extended the contract for pass rusher, George Karlaftis.
The deal was first reported by Bleacher Report Insider, Jordan Schultz . The agreement is a five-year extension worth $93 million with $62 million guaranteed. In this contract, Karlaftis will have $30 million in injury guarantees that can be elevated to the full $62 million guaranteed outlined in this contract if he remains healthy.
With this deal, the Chiefs have their 24-year-old pass rusher signed through the 2029 season.
Those timelines match the contracts of Creed Humphrey, Smith, and Karlaftis. When those contracts expire, Head Coach Andy Reid will be in his final year of his contract.
It is not surprising the Chiefs pushed to get this deal done, but that leaves some question marks with cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and, to a lesser degree, Justin Watson. The Chiefs executed the fifth-year option for McDuffie and Karlaftis through 2026.
Watson will be a free agent after this season, but contract talks with McDuffie will be more difficult. Getting McDuffie to agree to a deal that aligns with the Chiefs’ long-term vision for competitive balance will require a leap of faith and a willingness to accept a team-friendly offer.
However, the big signings are out of the way, and I suspect the Chiefs made the deal with Karlaftis and Smith to set the table for their contract talks with their best cornerback.
It won’t be an easy conversation as the cornerback market is a high-priced endeavor, but if both sides are willing to strike while the iron is hot, perhaps McDuffie will get his deal to stay in Kansas City.
If not, he could be leveraged in a trade like Tyreek Hill was three years ago when the Chiefs acquired five draft picks from Miami for the top-flight wide receiver.
With players arriving in St. Joe, this will be a hot topic. Stay tuned to ChiefsBlitz for all your Kansas City Chiefs news.
