Cut ‘Downers’ Miss Veach Victory
by Ransom Hawthorne
I’m gonna be blunt, if you’re upset about how the Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach handled this off-season, you’ve probably been listening to too much 610 sports radio. I enjoy it as much as the next guy, but you’ve got to take those takes with a grain of salt. That’s not to say there are no viable criticisms of Veach, but the vast majority of what we learned, last weekend, should leave you feeling good about where the Chiefs are headed. As Chiefs’ new GM puts his signature on the roster, it’s easy to see what he’s doing, and why.
The Marcus Peters Trade
Talk about Peters is complicated by the anthem protest, which makes it difficult for people to assess the move, without significant bias. As someone who understands a bit of both sides, without a strong opinion, one way or the other, I feel uniquely positioned to see past that. The decision on Peters basically boiled down to a handful of factors.
1. Peters is a loose cannon: whether you love him or hate him, there can’t be any other description for a guy who yells at coaches, and throws a ref’s flag into the stands.
2. Peters is due for a contract extension, and it won’t be cheap: quality players draw big contracts, and Peters is going to command a huge one, at least $16M, a year, probably closer to $18M. John Dorsey was fired for mismanaging the cap, and Veach wasn’t about to make the same mistake. Granted, the Chiefs could have used the 5th year option and franchise tag to control Peters for 3-4 more years. If you plan on doing that, though, you have to honestly answer the question: “How is Peters, a guy who made “business decisions” (avoiding tackles and contact), in a non-contract year, going to behave without a long term deal? If I’m a GM, that scares the heck out of me.
3. If you extend him, he’s un-cuttable: Suppose you think Peters’ talent is worth the price tag, it probably is. The amount of guaranteed money, you’ll need to give him, means you’ll be stuck with him for 5 years, no matter what he does. Are you confident that your coaching staff can control this guy for 5 years, when Peters can’t even control himself for 16 games?
At the end of the day, fans are really upset for one of two reasons: either A) they think he was cut for protests or, B) they think Chiefs replaced him with David Amerson. While I can’t speak with certainty to the protest factor, it’s clear that Chiefs regard Fuller as the replacement for Peters. That’s why they waited for the Smith trade to get done, before they moved Marcus Peters. Steven Nelson was always the assumed #2 CB. That means Amerson was meant to replace Terrence Mitchell. It didn’t work, but let’s not pretend one player is vastly superior to the other. Neither was a true starting CB. Orlando Scandrick will present zero drop-off, from what Chiefs had last year. That’s not great, but it’s not costing the Chiefs an arm and a leg either.
Veach Remains Humble
Every year you watch GMs hang onto bad players because they were team picks, or recent signings. Veach cut Amerson, with prejudice and let Eligwe go to keep Niemann. When Chiefs youth experiment at safety didn’t work, he gladly welcomed Ron Parker back into the fold. After explaining why he kept McGloin, to the media, Veach didn’t bat an eye at cutting him, when their waiver wire claim, on OL Ike Boettger, worked out. Veach clearly doesn’t care what he said, or did, in the past, he’s only worried about making the team better today. That’s a huge asset to the team. Being willing to change your mind, and quickly, is the mark of a wise man.
Color me impressed.
Veach Shows Understanding of Positional Value
Head Coach Andy Reid has almost always kept three QBs on the main roster. The Chiefs have generally had 5 OLBs too. The ratios, this year, are significantly different. All of that is a direct result of Veach’s understanding of a player’s financial value. Instead of carrying Frank Zombo, a veteran STs player, with no future as a starter, Veach kept extra RB Damien Williams, a future starter, at a bargain price.
Veach also has kept 10 OL, more than Chiefs have ever had on the roster, since Reid got here. Why? Because OL depth is extremely scarce, in the NFL. Remember Zach Fulton? Depth guy turned average starter, at LG? At $7M a year, he commands the 4th highest salary of any LG. Keep in mind that LG is the cheapest position on the OL. The 4th highest paid RG makes $11M a year. Veach is amassing quality depth, while other teams are starving for decent starters. That could translate into trade value, but, at the very least, it means significant cap savings.
Chiefs had planned on keeping 7 WRs, but Byron Pringle’s injury means they could stash him, for a year. That might seem like a lot of wide-outs, but consider another Chiefs player who departed in Free Agency: Albert Wilson. In a four year career, Albert Wilson surpassed 500 yards just once. This despite playing on some teams with abysmal WR depth. His contract now in Miami? $8M per year. The Chiefs have witnessed, first hand, how expensive it can be to acquire competent WRs, in free agency. They paid Jeremy Maclin $11.6M per year, and, recently, forked over $16M per year, for Sammy Watkins. Speaking of Watkins…
Veach and the Mistake
I get why Veach signed Watkins, it made a ton of sense. It could still prove to be the right move. For now, though, it looks like the biggest mistake of the off-season. Watkins has taken some time to fit into the offense, which is not uncommon for WRs in Reid’s system, but do you want to pay a guy $16M who takes half his first season to get going? Perhaps the biggest issue with the Watkins signing, was not the fact that Chiefs overpaid for a need, but that they had bigger needs. Watkins may prove a boon to an offense that was already shaping up to be elite, but it’s hard not to wonder what $16M per could’ve done, for a highly suspect defense.
John Dorsey’s roster put Brett Veach between a rock and a hard place, but, for a first year GM, he’s been undeniably impressive. His willingness to adjust on the fly, abandon past decisions, when they don’t work out, and look to the future, is already putting the Chiefs in much better shape with the salary cap. Want proof that Veach is getting more bang for Chiefs buck? The four lowest paid players, making over a million dollars for Chiefs, in 2017, were West, Erving, Bray and Zombo. This year? Ware, Speaks, Damien Williams, and Scandrick. One of those groups is CLEARLY more impactful than the other. I like where Veach is going, even if the roster isn’t quite there yet. Go Chiefs.
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