The Chiefs have an edge in roster construction like never before. And they’re using it
Before the Chiefs hoisted their first Lombardi Trophy in a half-century, their front office began engineering the blueprint for another.
Before the parade on Grand Boulevard, general manager Brett Veach and his staff outlined the financial requirements to prevent a roster from being drained.
The persistence in the exercise proved its difficulty. Twenty unrestricted free agents. An expensive contract that would require restructuring. A massive extension for the quarterback lurking. A franchise tag for a Pro Bowl defender.
“We certainly had some obstacles to overcome,” Veach said.
In Indianapolis hotels and convention centers, members of the Chiefs front office began to enact their plan, just three weeks after winning the Super Bowl. They met with nearly two dozen of their own players. Although short of universal, a theme overwhelmed the meetings.
We’d love to have you back.
But how? The Chiefs did not have enough cap space to afford a ticket inside an Arrowhead Stadium suite. The plan would require deft work from Veach, from his cap gurus Brandt Tilis and Chris Shea, from the names you’ve probably already heard and read about. But there remained one more key to making it all work.
Cooperation from a bunch of NFL athletes looking to capitalize on a resume that now included a Super Bowl.
‘You want to be competing for championships’
The best statistical seasons of wide receiver Sammy Watkins’ career came in Buffalo. Over a two-year stretch, he totaled 2,056 yards and 15 touchdowns.
He’s moved on, and he’s a champion in Kansas City now, at least in part to a play he made in that game in Miami. But let’s not get it twisted — he’s in a less prominent role here, one in which he watches teammates make more plays, one in which he has totaled 1,192 yards and six touchdowns in two seasons.
Yet he not only stayed in Kansas City this offseason, he did it for less money, agreeing to restructure the final year of his contract. If he had said no — if he had refused to back off his $21 million price tag — he likely would have been put on the job market. And at age 27, he could have garnered more than a one-year deal. Probably secured a contract that paid more.
“Very important to stay here,” he said. “I think for what we did and winning the Super Bowl and type of team and coaches we have, the organization, why wouldn’t I want to stay? I’m a guy that’s been in the league going on seven years, and I’ve been on teams where I was not so good and we weren’t winning. My job was really to stay focused and be on a team where we got a well-established quarterback, well-established team and coaches, organization. I think the fun is in the winning more than anything.
“I think I’ve made enough money,” he would add.
An offseason defined by the roster’s lack of change actually demonstrates the biggest change of all — players not only want to play in Kansas City, they’re willing to make sacrifices to do it.
Players will stick with a winner. They’ll stick alongside a young franchise quarterback. They’ll stick with a team led by a proven coach with a reputation for being popular among his players.
But how often has that three-pronged combination applied to the Chiefs? Has it ever?
The front-office pounced on it. In one offseason, it convinced Watkins to return on a restructured, incentive-laden contract. They returned starters Demarcus Robinson and Bashaud Breeland and top reserve Mike Pennel on one-year pacts.
And then there were the big-money deals, the two that seemed unlikely to work in cohesion. But even in a record-breaking contract, Mahomes agreed to take less-than-he-could-have money in the initial two years in order to conserve cap space. Chris Jones offered patience as it all unfolded, a willingness to wait on the destination he wanted, before his four-year agreement finally came together. He, too, accepted a structure that allowed the other deals to work in conjunction.
“The honest answer is that it did take some massaging from both players and their cash flow early on to make sure we can handle and be protected with the cap next year,” Veach said.
It’s one thing to map out a wish list. It’s another to execute it so closely to its origin.
And it’s an entirely different level of confidence to hinge part of the plan on synergy from so many players.
“It’s a good thing that we were able to get them back. You never know going into the offseason how that’s going to work out,” Reid said. “Obviously guys wanted to be here. But at the same time, (CEO and chairman) Clark Hunt gave Brett (Veach) the opportunity to go get those guys. I thought that was important. And Brett and his crew, I thought, just did a heck of a job with it.
“And there’s a want to. The guys, they want to be here. They know they have an opportunity, with hard work and working through the process, to be a good football team.”
A step back, and the broader picture suggests what awaits the Chiefs’ future is something that’s so rarely been part of their past. The Chiefs have advantages in roster construction they’ve never before enjoyed. The negotiations have changed.
You can win here. You’ve already won here. Want another ring?
“You want to be in the playoffs every year; you want to be competing for championships,” Mahomes said.
Will it be a trend? It might need to be.
The Chiefs are looking at two dozen free agents next March. The salary cap is expected to fall for the first time since it was introduced in 1994. (The cap is set based on revenue, and with teams banning fans or hosting them at reduced capacities, the revenue is going to take a serious hit.)
The Chiefs’ front office did leave some wiggle room in recent contracts. The cap is flexible, as they say. But in the end, the plans to preserve the core of the roster another year will require one familiar piece.
It might take a little cooperation from the players.