Would You, Could You? Chiefs Fans?

Laddie Morse

The Kansas City Chiefs have a lot of decisions to make this offseason and while those decisions are aplenty, there’s not a singular position they need to focus on like two years ago when Brett Veach basically rebuilt the Offensive Line. Now is your turn to have a say so in the decisions the Chiefs will eb facing this offseason. So, let’s see what you have to say about:

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Sports Illustrated – Photo Credit

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Trade Chris Jones?

It’s already been suggested that with the Chiefs salary cap limitations, that Chris Jones be traded so the team could pick up some high draft picks while simultaneously bringing down the overall cap numbers. I can see how the Chiefs may be wanting to rid themselves of Chris Jones cap hit this year which is: $28,291,668. Yes, his base salary is only $19.5M for 2023, but with all his bonuses the cap number balances out at over $28M. If GM Brett Veach were to sign CJ to an extension this offseason, he would likely save some money against the cap this year, but not in the future. Then again, future years on his contract could be structured to make his deal a team friendly deal with certain advantages in Dead Money and Cap Savings.

Here’s what DrafTek lists as their DL-ONE -TECH and their DL – TWO – TECH:

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The point is, I don’t think I see any Defensive Linemen who would be able to ever fill Chris Jones shoes. At 6-foot-6, 310 lbs., Jones presents a problem for Offensive Lines that requires them to frequently double team him, which usually doesn’t work. I’m more of the opinion that CJ is re-signed this year or next, then K.C. opts for drafting a DE — Edge Rusher — early in the draft. Especially since there are far more — better — DE Prospects in this draft than there are DT Prospects.

To go from 29th in the NFL in 2021 in sacks with 31… to 2nd in the league in sacks with 55 this past year, means you’re doing something right. The things going right for K.C. are: 1) Joe Cullen was brought in to coach the DL, and 2) George Karlaftis was drafted and trained, and 3) Carlos Dunlap was signed and he helped the DL develop. If Dunlap doesn’t come back, I fully expect the team to draft a top DE prospect with one of their first two choices then bring him along slowly like they did with Karlaftis.

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Re-Sign JuJu

Chiefs Kingdom loves JuJu Smith-Schuster. You could here the Arrowhead crown yelling “JuJu-JuJu” every time he touched the ball. Although it may have sounded like Boo-ing, it wasn’t. It was “JuJu-JuJu-JuJu” every time. The bad news is, JuJu is not likely to re-sign with the Chiefs for the 2023 season. For that to happen, he would have to take a large cut in pay as he is likely to be offered a lot more money to sign with another team.

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Do I want JuJu Smith-Schuster to sign with the Chiefs this year? Yes, if. So, what is my “if?” If Brett Veach can convince JuJu to sign for less than he’s expected to make with another team. JuJu had 933 receiving yards this season… and… I’m about to make what some might call an outrageous statement but… and… JuJu is as good as Travis Kelce at getting open over the middle of the field. For the money… based on what JuJu was paid this season, he was a better deal than… yes… wait for it… Travis Kelce.

I know it sounds like I’m making a case for keeping JuJu, and I am. JuJu was paid $3.7M this season for 933 receiving yards while Travis Kelce was paid $8.4M for 1,338 receiving yards. JuJu is 27 years old and Kelce is soon 34 years old. However, the fact that JuJu is only 27 may mean he’s in the prime of his career and that may also mean he’ll be expecting a –> “prime-of-my-career-contract.” Keep your fingers (and other digits) crossed.

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2 Tag or Not 2 Tag OBJr.

In an article for ArrowheadPride, John Dixon wrote called: “Starting Tuesday, the Chiefs could place the franchise tag on Orlando Brown Jr.” he stated:

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“Many observers believe that Brown will be tagged again for the 2023 season. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the league and the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA), a 2023 non-exclusive franchise tag for an offensive lineman is worth $18.2 million. But the CBA also specifies that a tag must be at least 120% of the player’s salary in the previous year. This means that a non-exclusive franchise contract tender to Brown will be worth $20 million this season.”

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From a piece by Charles Goldman for Chiefs Wire, he said that the offer made to Orlando Brown Jr. last offseson by Brett Veach was:

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“… the final offer from K.C. was a six-year deal worth $139 million with an average salary of $23.16 million per year and a $30.25 million signing bonus. The contract would pay $95 million in the first five years.”

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I was happy that OBJr. didn’t take that deal at the time because I believed it was still too much for an average Left Tackle like OBJr.. I don’t know what you think (yet) but I’m still glad that Veach and OBJr. didn’t come to that agreement last offseason. If Veach can sign him for one more year at nearly $20M, I’ll be satisfied with that. Did Orlando Brown Jr. get better this season? Yes, but not by a mile. In December (before the end of the season) one ranking service had OBJr. as the 23rd best LT and revealed he had 39 pressures allowed and 3 sacks allowed (he ended up with 4 sacks allowed).

If Brett Veach can find another solution to the Left Tackle issue… and I do believe it’s still an issue… then I hope he finds one this offseason. Do I want Orlando Brown Jr. back with the Chiefs in 2023? I don’t know. It depends on how much cap money he will cost.

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Draft a TE Replacement?

First of all, this looks like a great year to be looking for a TE at the top of the draft board. Secondly, Travis Kelce is 33 and will be 34 later in this coming 2023 season. Could he be a viable TE for the next five seasons? Sure, however, does that mean the Chiefs shouldn’t begin to look at replacements for him now? No way, especially if that player is available in this coming draft. With the idea that Travis Kelce is the ideal TE, both in performance and size, he’s 6-foot-5, and weighs 260 lbs.. So, here are the Top Five TE Prospects offered by DrafTek:

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I like the first two on this list. If Michael Mayer falls a bit and Veach can jump up to get him, the Chiefs would have a hold of a dynamic TE who has the ability to take over for Travis Kelce in a could of years. This video si called: “Gronk 2.0 | Michael Mayer 2022 Notre Dame Highlights”… Gronk 2.0 huh? I’ll take that, even if it does mean he’ll never be as good as Kelce:

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Luke Musgrave is a dynamic TE as well. If Mayer is not available at pick #31, I’d be grateful if Veach would take him there too:

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While this is a tricky offseason for the Chiefs, instead of fixing an position group, the Chiefs need to strengthen the team they have now. That’s why it might be best if they invest in a Tight End of the future, now.

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Matt Nagy to OC?

With Eric Bieniemy taking the Offensive Coordinator’s position in Washington with the Commanders, it leaves his OC position open here in K.C.. Matt Nagy appears to have the inside track on filling that role. Sould he do that? That is the question. The reason I say he has the “inside track” is his experience:

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Let me know what you think? Especially if your thought differ from mine. I like to know know what others are rationalizing.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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