Laddie Morse
It’s hard to believe but the NFL’s Free Agency “Legal Tampering” period began 13 days ago, nearly two weeks, and the Kansas City Chiefs were a part of it all. In some years, K.C. has stayed away from the big money FAs, but now they jump in with both feet, coming away with value of course. Two years ago, they signed LG Joe Thuney on the 2nd day of Free Agency then last year they signed Safety Justin Reid on the third day of Free Agency, and both of those signings were in the First Free Agency Wave. This year of course, K.C. signed both Defensive Lineman Charles Omenihu and Offensive Lineman Jawaan Taylor in the first week of Free Agency: both Taylor and Omenihu were signed on the 16th.
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Byron Cowart is a new Defensive Tackle for the Chiefs as of yesterday, March 24.
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Since we’re in Phase Two (Second Wave) of Free Agency, no one should expect much from any player signed at this point (unless he’s a WR). Cowart may be an example of exactly that. Look at his snaps for the Patriots and the Colt, which came down dramatically last year, and even in his best year for New England, he didn’t get to 50%:
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What does that mean for K.C.? It may end up meaning he’s glad to get a contract at this point but it may also mean he is acting like a smokescreen for the Chiefs at the defensive tackle position (along with Derrick Nnadi). Why? Because Veach is wanting to be freed up to take the best player available at #31 in the draft (assuming they stay there and don’t trade up). Then if a DT is available, one they love, they’ll jump on that prospect.
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Earlier this month, Bleacher Report published an article entitled: “Chris Jones Wants to Be at Least 2nd-Highest-Paid DT in Next Contract” in which Veach is quoted as saying:
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“We’ll certainly have conversations with Chris and his agents. Doing something with Chris would make sense for us, and I think Chris will want to stay here and retire a Chief.”
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We know CJ has already stated that he wants to finish his career in Kansas City:
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CJ: “I’m a Chief for life. I will not play for another franchise.” That pretty much says it all. Except, if he does restructure, it will free up cap space this year so Veach can sign more FAs… or trade for another playmaker. In an article by Jordan Foote for SI.com called: “Chris Jones Tweets Thoughts on Long-Term Future With Chiefs,” he states:
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“Jones, who turns 29 in July, is coming off a 2022-23 campaign that saw him finish third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Starting all 17 regular-season games for Kansas City, the former second-round pick matched a career-high with 15.5 sacks and ended up being named a first-team All-Pro for the very first time. Jones also made his fourth Pro Bowl in a row, which is a testament to his dominance over the last half-decade for the Chiefs.”
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“The last time Jones signed a hefty long-term pact with the Chiefs (2020), the news broke in July of that offseason. The expectation from many has been that any potential agreement for this offseason could follow a similar timetable, and it’s unclear exactly where things are progress-wise…. An extension is far from a lock to happen, of course, which must be kept in mind. Twitter doesn’t get deals done. With that said, Jones is doing nothing to stifle the speculation as a gigantic payday hangs in the balance.”
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Under Chris Jones current deal, his cap hit in 2022 was $29.4M and in 2023 (without a restructure) it would be $28.3M. In the first year of this contract he made around $15M which is important to know since a restructured deal would likely be similar. That means, Veach would probably have another $12+M to work with this offseason… should a newly restructured deal get done with Chris Jones. In my mind, CJ is to the Defense, what Mahomes is to the offense. IOW, it all starts up front with Mr. Christopher Deshun Jones.
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It looks like the Chiefs have already become Tight End Central. With Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Matt Bushman, Jody Fortson and now Blake Bell… the Chiefs will have their pick of the litter. It also means that unless Veach sees a stellar TE drop significantly in the draft, he’s not likely to select another TE. Unless, that’s what he wants us — including all 31 other GMs — to think. It should be noted that FB Michael Burton has signed with the Broncos so he can re-connect with HC Sean Payton. Consequently, if Reid and Veach don’t find another FB this offseason, it may be because they have so many TEs to work with who could cover those FB duties.
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Like most fans in the Kingdom, I’d like to see the Chiefs — Brett Veach — pull the trigger on a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for WR DeAndre Hopkins (D-HOP). While there have been many other suitors for D-HOP, the Buffalo Bills appear to have joined the tussle:
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Since we know that the Chiefs — and Brett Veach — don’t like being caught in a fight over a player, because it only jacks the price up higher than it needs to be, we can almost assuredly count K.C. out in this chase.
I would have loved getting DeAndre Hopkins aboard, but only if he can be had for the right price.
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Chiefs Fourth round pick, cornerback from the 2022 NFL draft, Joshua Williams, went for a visit this week to his ancestral home in St. Kitts and Nevis. Charles Goldman wrote a piece for YahooSports.com called, “Chiefs CB Joshua Williams visits St. Kitts and Nevis” in which he reveals:
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“Williams is on a visit to the Eastern Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis (aka The Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis), where his father, George Williams, was born before eventually emigrating to The United States… [he is]… getting to play the role of ambassador after the team’s Super Bowl LVII victory.”
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne