Officially, 2022 Wheeling and Dealing Has Begun

Today is the Opening Day of the 2022 Season

Bidding Adieu to Mathieu

Brett Veach recognized that Tyrann Mathieu’s value exceeded by far what he was willing to offer Tyrann Mathieu and signed Former Texan Safety, Justin Smith. I am sorry that this had to happen and we wish Tyrann well and offer up a hearty “thank you” at the same time. Smith’s signing is better than most think: He can play either Strong or Free Safety and play up in the box. he is faster than Mathieu, as well as being more physical and aggressive. His size is also an advantage weighing in at about 205 Lb, and he is 6.1.

The Departing Charvius Ward Strikes Gold

Ward’s contract was going to be beyond what Veach could match; he departs for the 49’ers. That does hurt when you think about two important players in the secondary playing elsewhere in 2022. There is a definite need at Cornerback now. I was hopeful that if Mathieu left, that Ward could then be retained but that was not to be. The observation about Ward’s big payday is that the 49’ers overpaid for him to join the Frisco football team. They tendered him a 3-year $42m with $26.7M guaranteed. Wow. That’s huge. I believe in Ward and that’s a great haul but he still needs to add to his credentials to earn that kind of money. There is no way the Chiefs could come close to that.

Not only is the Safety Room a player light, now the same is true for the Cornerback Group. Veach has already signed Deandre Baker back to the club. I mentioned on Monday that Jeff Gladney would be available. He is no longer with the Vikings and his legal problem has been resolved in his favor. The Former Viking was a 2020 first-round draft pick, so the type of acquisition that is in the Brett Veach Wheelhouse. I do think Mike Hughes should be tendered but that is a wait-and-see because of money demands and outlook. Hughes also plays an important role in Dave Taub’s Special Teams.

Adding back What we hope is a Return of the Shark

Frank Clark restructured his contract for 2 years, at less than $14.5M(estimate). This should add $12m in Cap Space which is sorely needed. If I am honest here, I was not counting on Clark returning to the Chiefs. If he returns, even at that price, we need to see a shark circling the water in the opponent’s backfield and striking fear in our opponent Quarterback’s eyes. We saw little of that the past two seasons.

Mike Burton(FB) Will Be Tendered

The Chiefs do use Fullbacks. Sherman was always important to the Chiefs and Mike Burton is next in line.

He has a job with the Chiefs, aiding both the offense and Special Teams. See a link about it at Chiefswire, here: https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/2022/03/14/kansas-city-chiefs-2022-nfl-free-agency-michael-burton-re-signed/?taid=622fe7a443b33f0001db128c&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

The Cap Space Situation

The available money story provides a bleak outlook. Right now Veach and Co. are working in the background because of the Available cap which is in the red column.

What is likely to get done?

I’d say the first thing is a restructure of the Patrick Mahomes Contract. Adam Shefter provides a view of what is possible. The example gets the Chiefs to the positive side of the ledger, retiring the $-10M relief to the tune of $11.7m in monies available. As noted above, we don’t yet know the full details on the Frank Clark restructured deal but it should provide something like another $12M(Est. without details of Clark’s new Contract. Neither OTC nor Spotrac have been updated regarding the Clark Contract Restructure.

Other News

Meanwhile, The Chiefs signed their own team member-Free Agent Fullback, Mike Burton but lost Charvarius Ward to the 49’ers. We have yet to see the next signing move by Brett Veach. I suspect they will re-work Tyreek Hill’s Contract and probably that of Travis Kelce as well. They will need the cap space to sign players to fill the gaps of need as the free-agent period proceeds. An example of such signings might include a tier 2 Free Agent WR such as Smith-Schuster, another Defensive End, also a tier 2 type transaction by returning Melvin Ingram or hiring Free Agent Zadarius Smith(Green Bay). Those two moves or ones like them would go a long way to shoring up the defense as the draft approaches and providing a WR for the Mahomes arsenal. What would be perfect is adding a third Free Agent DT who is both a run-stopping tough guy who would also possess the pass-rush skill the Chiefs need as they rebuild the Defensive Front.

I do not regard the loss of Mathieu as a tragedy nor does the Ward departure distress me — Hiring Justin Reid is a solid addition. Countering Ward moving on can be accomplished by signing Hughes back aboard or adding Gladney who showed good promise in 2020. Whatever Veach does to shore up the secondary while the primary work from Veach’s “Must Do” list is worked through.

Justin Reid’s Contract

James Palmer thinks the Kingdom is going to like Reid’s arrival in Kansas City.

Here is what his contract details look like for the 3-year deal:

Checking the news on Twitter and so on regularly. Nothing announced that caught my eye. There are a lot of rumors still floated though. Some of those are truly intriguing if they came to fruition but they are only rumors at present.

Last Tidbit?

The Draft Picks for 2022 have been officially announced. Veach has 9 picks. I think though, the 6th round pick was in the Melvin Ingram acquisition but I could be mistaken.

Meanwhile, since I first set this article up for posting, the Chiefs have tendered TE Jody Fortson, OT/OG Andrew Wylie, QB Chad Henne, and, RB Derrick Gore.

We’ll have to wait and see what the next move is by Brett Veach. We may have to wait until phase two of Free Agency arrives.
David Bell – ArrowheadOne