Changing faces of the Kansas City Chiefs: Catching up with all the free-agency action
The Chiefs are steadily making moves toward determining their initial roster for the 2022 season.
Their offseason roster-building process started somewhat slowly during the early stages of free agency because they lacked space under the NFL’s $208.2 million salary cap for 2022.
But their purse strings eased a bit when they reworked defensive end Frank Clark’s large contract, and then they got to work. While the rest of the league — and certainly the AFC West — was spending freely, the Chiefs methodically signed safety Justin Reid and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to three- and one-year deals, respectively.
They brought back veteran quarterback Chad Henne as Patrick Mahomes’ backup and reached new one-year agreements with several in-house free agents: fullback Michael Burton, offensive lineman Andrew Wylie, defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and tight end Blake Bell.
And they’ve continued to make cap-friendly acquisitions in free agency, signing linebacker Elijah Lee, wide receiver Corey Coleman, safety Deon Bush, cornerback Luq Barcoo, tackle Geron Christian and center Austin Reiter, who returns to the Chiefs after spending the 2021 season with the Saints, Dolphins and Rams.
All of this was prelude to their biggest move of the week and a trade that sent shockwaves throughout the rest of the league.
Exactly a week after the free-agent market opened, the Chiefs traded megastar receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Miami’s first-, second- and fourth-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft and fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2023. Negotiations between the Chiefs and Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhouse, had stalled, so the Chiefs granted Hill permission to seek a trade.
The Dolphins outbid the New York Jets and the speedy Hill was off to South Beach.
The decision to let Hill walk probably wasn’t an easy one to make, but remember, the Chiefs began the week with just $5.6 million in available cap space. With Hill’s contract off the books, that figure had ballooned to $26.2 million by Thursday morning, according to spotrac.com.
With new money in hand, the Chiefs reportedly entertained a couple of free agents on midweek visits to KC: wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (formerly of the Green Bay Packers) and running back Ronald Jones (formerly with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
They reached contract agreements with Valdes-Scantling Thursday afternoon and with Jones on Saturday.
Another report from the NFL Network has noted that the Chiefs might next be interested in veteran free-agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore, a two-time All-Pro from his time with the New England Patriots.
But the Chiefs still need to keep an eye on their bottom line because — barring a trade (or trades) of picks — they’ll need at least $13.8 million to sign the 12 rookies they currently stand to draft during this year’s selection process, which is scheduled for April 28-30 in Las Vegas. That includes the three selections they acquired in trading Hill to Miami.
Right now, the Chiefs have 76 players on their offseason roster. The maximum allowed is 90. So their roster will remain fluid, with additions and subtractions leading up to the regular season.
Here’s a rundown of what the Chiefs have done since free agency began on March 16.
FRANCHISE-TAGGED
- LT Orlando Brown Jr., which carries a $16.6 million price tag
SIGNED
- S Justin Reid to three-year deal
- WR JuJu Smith-Schuster to one-year deal
- OL Geron Christian to one-year deal
- LB Elijah Lee to one-year deal
- WR Corey Coleman, terms not disclosed
- CB Luq Barcoo, terms not disclosed
- S Deon Bush, terms not disclosed
- C Austin Reiter to one-year deal
- WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling to three-year deal
- LB Jermaine Carter, terms not disclosed
- RB Ronald Jones to one-year deal
RE-SIGNED
- QB Chad Henne to one-year deal
- FB Michael Burton to one-year deal
- OL Andrew Wylie to one-year deal
- DT Derrick Nnadi to one-year deal
- TE Blake Bell to one-year deal
TENDERED
- RB Derrick Gore as ERFA
- TE Jody Fortston as ERFA
- CB Deandre Baker as ERFA
TRADED
- WR Tyreek Hill to Miami
FREE-AGENCY LOSSES
- CB Charvarius Ward to San Francisco
- WR Byron Pringle to Chicago
- C Austin Bylthe to Seattle
- CB Mike Hughes to Detroit
- DT Jarran Reed to Green Bay
- S Daniel Sorensen, Saints
CURRENT FREE AGENTS
- RB: Darrel Williams, Jerick McKinnon
- WR: Marcus Kemp
- OL: Mike Remmers, Kyle Long
- DL: Melvin Ingram, Alex Okafor
- LB: Anthony Hitchens, Dorian O’Daniel, Ben Niemann
- CB: Chris Lammons
- S: Tyrann Mathieu, Armani Watts
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
