KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two years ago as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the globe, the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs opted to stand pat heading in the 2020 season.
Beyond re-signing their own players, the Chiefs’ biggest free-agent addition was veteran right tackle Mike Remmers (New York Giants), a solid but not splashy move.
With the pandemic tamping down revenue and, in turn, the annual salary cap, Kansas City — and the rest of the league’s front offices — had to be fluid.
“There were a lot of adjustments that we had to do,” Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said Tuesday on a video conference with reporters. “It limited our ability to do some things and we had to get creative in other ways.
Amid restrictions on gatherings and offseason workouts, the decision largely to stay the course was rewarded with a return trip to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs were more active last offseason, making a splash by signing left guard Joe Thuney (New England) at the start of free agency in the quest to build a better offensive line, but smaller moves — like signing defensive tackle Jarran Reed (Seattle), tight end Blake Bell (Dallas) and fullback Michael Burton (New Orleans) — were all the team could afford from there.
The forthcoming offseason figures to be very different with the Chiefs likely to have significantly more cap room (and more roster holes).
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Kansas City is projected to have $14.5 in salary cap space in 2022, when the NFL cap is expected to rise to $208.2 million.
But the Chiefs can bump that number closer to $50 million with a few moves — cutting defensive end Frank Clark with a post-June 1 designation would net $19.5 million in cap space and cutting linebacker Anthony Hitchens would net $8.4 million, according to Over the Cap.
Additionally, extending wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s contract, which has one year left, could significantly drop his $20.7 cap number next season.
That’s good news, because Kansas City has nearly two dozen free agents — including key defensive players like safety Tyrann Mathieu, cornerback Charvarius Ward, Reed and fellow defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, and defensive ends Melvin Ingram and Alex Okafor.
On offense, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., wide receiver Byron Pringle, running backs Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon along with guard Andrew Wylie, who started 10 games including the playoffs at right tackle, also are impending free agents.
Kansas City remains one of the top offenses in the NFL and should remain a juggernaut as long as Patrick Mahomes — whose roster-bonus heavy, flexible 10-year extension runs through 2031 and also can be altered to create cap flexibility at any time — is healthy.
Mahomes’ cap number shoots up next season, which will create a new challenge for Veach and his staff to maintain a quality roster and avoid future salary-cap woes, but the flexibility and an expectation the salary cap will continue to climb make the deal team-friendly.
“Hopefully, with another successful offseason, we can put ourselves in a position to play for another championship,” Veach said. “It’s a long road. It’s tough, it’s draining mentally, physically and emotionally, but in a few weeks here we’ll be ready to get right back at it and put another great product out there.”
The deadline for NFL teams to make franchise- or transition-tag designations is 3 p.m. Central time on March 8.
Brown seems to be the most likely candidate for a franchise tag.
The open contact period for free-agent contract negotiations begins at 11 a.m. Central on March 14, but players and teams can’t officially sign until the 2022 League Year officially begins at 3 p.m. Central on March 16.
“We have some work to do on the defensive side and on the defensive line, and we’ll have some decisions to make,” Veach said. “We’ll always prioritize the offensive and defensive lines.”
The NFL’s Annual League Meeting will be in late March in Palm Beach, Florida, with the NFL Draft slated for April 28-30 in Las Vegas.
2022 CHIEFS FREE AGENTS
Unrestricted free agents (25)
Defense
Safeties — Tyrann Mathieu, Daniel Sorensen and Armani Watts
Defensive ends — Melvin Ingram and Alex Okafor
Defensive tackles — Derrick Nnadi and Jarran Reed
Cornerbacks — Mike Hughes, Chris Lammons and Charvarius Ward
Linebackers Ben Niemann and Dorian O’Daniel
Offense
Offensive line — LT Orlando Brown Jr., RT Mike Remmers, G Kyle Long, G Andrew Wylie and C Austin Blythe
Wide receivers — Byron Pringle, Demarcus Robinson and Marcus Kemp
Quarterbacks — Chad Henne
Running backs — Jerick McKinnon and Darrel Williams
Tight ends — Blake Bell
Fullbacks — Michael Burton
Exclusive rights free agents (3)
CB Deandre Baker, TE Jody Fortson and RB Derrick Gore
