Chiefs Free Agents: Believe It or Not!

Chiefs Free Agents: Believe It or Not! – Big stuff is about to happen to the Kansas City Chiefs Football Club and will happen before the NFL Draft. What is appropriate at this particular moment is to address what should be anticipated in signing their own Free Agents. I listened carefully to what Brett Veach said in his presser this week and while there were surprises, especially related to the expectation of how soon Eric Fisher could return, in the end, Veach said he would leave the topic to Rick Burkholder and the Medical staff. I sincerely doubt a training camp re-appearance of Eric Fisher.

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What I found to be a statement of direction in his comments was he focused on the Offense and Defensive lines, Linebackers and Wide Receivers.

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Brett Veach and Staff

Brett Veach and his staff have hard work to do. Why? To get another one of these:

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Brett also discussed working to re-sign Sammy Watkins, something he observed would be more difficult to accomplish. He addressed three of the Wide Receivers otherwise, so I think you can count on the Ty Hill, Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle. He also indicated that he did not anticipate a Free Agent signing solution for this position group which tells me they will look to available players on the roster, (free agent or not) or a draft pick. This tells me something as well because as much as I dearly love Sammy Watkins being a threat on the field to score and move the chains, he cannot do it if he cannot get on the field (Schottenheimer: “The best ability is availability,” not only a mantra, but a truism).

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Veach also observed that Free Agent and draft picks would go into the mix of developing the multiple approach “Big Boards” that the Chiefs use. What I found heartening was that… he focused on those 4 positions mentioned above (Offense and Defensive lines, Linebackers and Wide Receivers).

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Laddie Morse and I were discussing the draft situation again yesterday. Lad has an article out for Tuesday in which he made crucial observation about what the season goal was not just to win the division, but to beat Tom Brady or the like. This requires a huge effort in collapsing the pocket on a pocket quarterback. So keep that in mind when you think about how Veach might approach the draft.

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Is There a “Playmaker/Difference-maker?”

There are players on this roster that remain in the process of developing and can turn a corner from last year to this. The Chiefs coaching staff will be acutely attuned to who made progress from the 2020 field of play up to the upcoming camps. Of course this list of retained players will be a metric for the draft itself. Veach will retain the players who build the core of the team (shown below).

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I am working through different position groups and where they stand. For two sequential articles I addressed the Offensive Line. Even then I found I had more to say, at least in response to comments and questions. I will preface my remarks about Free Agents by stating the following about the Front Five: Mitch Schwartz will man the ROT and LDT at ROG. From there, I am less comfortable with any certainty. I have written that Kelechi Osemele wants to return and if he can do that, then we can look for Lucas Niang at LOT, leaving the the Center position the one which I would dearly love address via the draft. In his most recent presser, Brett Veach gave at least a slender thread of hope that Eric Fisher would make it back, but stated he would leave any prediction otherwise to the medical staff.

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HINT: Landon Dickerson(Alabama)-Round 2, Creed Humphrey(Oklahoma)-Round 2 or Josh Myer(Ohio St)-Round 3. My preference here is Dickerson.

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In that previous article, I wrote about both Nick Allegretti and Martinas Rankin in the process, writing about the possibility of moving Nick to the role at Center. As starters, the weak points was Andrew Wylie and Austin Reiter. I believe that is still the case. Now? I can go back and pen another piece about the Offensive Line again.

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Nick Allegretti offers a lot of football options for the front 5. He manned the LOG position and hasn’t looked back. I like him a lot and a great addition for a 7th round pick. The versatility might come into play in 2021.

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At any rate, I am going to use this bandwidth to list and address what I think about the Chiefs Free Agents: Retain or Not!

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Free Agents Assessment

Below find a list of Chiefs Free Agents, and my thought about their return in 2021 and my view of what will happen. Note: I have been over-ruled on one of these already. Damien Williams, RB, will return to the Chiefs in 2021 according to Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride. I did not believe he would return to the roster. I do have Darrell returning as well. Perhaps I should have made the connection that he was returning, but he was listed on the IR so not included in my table below.

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Player	Pos	Free Agent	Notes
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Sammy Watkins	WR	UFA	Not Retained – Why? Injury History. Maybe $5M though
Demarcus Robinson	WR	UFA	Not Retained – Why? Has not emerged as receiver threat despite Special Teams Contribution & his likely cost.
Alex Okafor	DE	UFA	Retained – Why? The Chiefs need a cost-efficient DE opposite Clark; We have to keep in mind Tim Ward in the process though.
Taco Charlton	DE	UFA	Retained – Why? Charlton’s ceiling is still untested and provides the “Third Man” for the DE Position. Clark’s collegiate Edge defender.
Austin Reiter	OC	UFA	Not Retained if I get my “Druthers”: Why? Not a dominate force needed in the middle(My idea is a Center who compliments Osemele.
Andrew Wylie	OG	RFA	Not Retained if I get my “Druthers”: Why? He looked to grow in 2019 but dropped back last year.
Bashaud Breeland	CB	UFA	Retained — IF the Price is right: Probably in the 3rd season of Spagnuolo’s defense, he is a positive force.
Daniel Sorensen	S	UFA	Not Retained due to his cost: Why? Dan has high football intellect but lacks closing speed for pass coverage. No at $4M+
Mike Pennel	DT	UFA	Not Retained due to his cost: Why? Big Mike fulfilled a need in 2019 but couldn’t match the deal in 2020. I like Wharton on the field.
Mike Remmers	OT	UFA	Not Retained – Why? Chiefs have Khalen Saunders; Tershawn Wharton! Room for that next draft pick here is big need, @ Chris Jones to pressure pocket.
Tanoh Kpassagnon	DE	UFA	Not retained: Why? Just not enough progress appears to find a way to force a position with Charlton and Okafor in front of him.
Damien Wilson	LB	UFA	Not retained – Why? Clearly not a starter AND I think the Chiefs need to make a 2021 draft pick for the outside position(Strong or weak).
Stefan Wisniewski	OG	UFA	Not retained – Why? Same as last season. His addition added value but is not a long term solution.
Le’Veon Bell	RB	UFA	Not Retained – not crucial – Why? Adding him back can’t hurt but his retention is added depth.
DeAndre Baker	CB	UFA	Will be resigned; I see him as one of the future starting 3 CB’s.
Daniel Kilgore	OC	UFA	I would bring back as #2 Center – Why? He was solid enough in his 2020 snaps. We need a #2 + This is one position where I want a top draft pick.
Kelechi Osemele	LOG	UFA	If he can play, Dearly want him back – Why? He is a man mover and his value showed in the first 5 games of 2020. We need 3 IOL men like him.
Antonio Hamilton	CB	UFA	Not Retained – Why? Really was not used much at all. Has vet value though.
Ricky Seals-Jones	TE	UFA	Not retained-disappointed he didn’t do more – Why? I expected him to be a more capable TE than he proved.
Alex Brown	CB	ERFA	Retained – Why? Has a higher ceiling than others but unproven and gIves us the depth at CB.
Nick Keizer	TE	ERFA	Retained – Got beyond youth jitters: Why? Potential not reached.
Byron Pringle	WR	ERFA	Retained – I like what I have seen and with what I think happens with the departure of Watkins and Robinson, he is NMU!
Darrell Williams	RB	RFA	Retained – Why? He has demonstrated an alternative run style to Clyde.
Ben Neimann	LB	RFA	Not Retained – I like Ben and he is a smart player. He lacks the “Closer mentality” and lacks speed.
Charvarius Ward	CB	RFA	Retained – Why? Plays solid Corner; suffered the broken hand which hurt his play in 2020.
Deon Yelder	TE	RFA	Not Retained – Why? We need a better 3rd string on that 3 string banjo. I can see him back at cheap cost.

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There you have it. I listed the players I thought should be retained and why. I also listed those that will not be. If there is something that needs doing, those not retained are not that type of player who is a solution. Veach indicated he would not be a player in Free Agent acquisitions outside of those who are already experienced with the Chiefs. Those men marked as “Not Retained” can fill the depth need. I would like to see One Free Agent acquired outside of the Chiefs own and that player won’t be cheap, but is a solution to be acquired for a position of need. Veach indicated though that this would likely not be a Wide Receiver. As far as Pringle is concerned, I am very optimistic that he, along with Mecole Hardman can step it up in 2021.

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Most of the players not retained are role players. I accept that, but Veach and his crew will be looking to improve all depth position players. The essential Quest is to acquire better role players each season. I trust this will occur. The essential problem to overcome is cost effectiveness/productivity. Presuming “Availability” then the players I listed as retained are important members of the overall crew. There are players not listed due to their IR status. Of course, any of the lower cost Free Agents can return as their cost is not crucial cap reduction monies and would be replaced by new players. That will depend on coaching assessment and progress last year.

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David Bell — ArrowheadOne

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