Chiefs lose out on draft pick because of timing of Tyrann Mathieu’s signing with Saints
When the NFL free agency signing period began on March 16, some observers thought safety Tyrann Mathieu would be among the first to get a big contract with a new team.
In his three seasons with the Chiefs, Mathieu twice was an All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl each year in Kansas City.
But Mathieu didn’t sign that first day. Or the next. Or even that week. Soon the days turned to weeks and the Honey Badger remained unsigned. While Mathieu told Star columnist Sam McDowell he had hoped to return to the Chiefs, Mathieu finally found his new team.
Mathieu signed Wednesday with the New Orleans Saints, his hometown team, seven weeks after free agency began.
“Coming into free agency, I’ve been fairly quiet,” Mathieu told reporters Wednesday. “I’ve really been just kind of letting things play out and you know, the Saints was really the only visit that I went on. And I think from the get-go, I knew where I wanted to be, and from there it’s all about everything kind of coming together and aligning.
“And so, like I said, I’m sure there’s a lot of people that were praying for me rooting for me, and it just feels good to see it all kind of come together but I’ve kind of been manifesting this for a while now. A lot of former teammates know this but just to have this opportunity means a lot to me.”
From the Chiefs’ perspective, it might have been better if things would have come together quicker for the Saints and Mathieu.
The NFL issues compensatory picks for each draft based on players a team loses through free agency.
The NFL determines a team is eligible to receive a compensatory pick if a player signs with a new team before the free agency signing period ends at “4 p.m. ET on the Monday following the most recent draft.”
So Mathieu’s deal with the Saints came too late for the Chiefs, who would have received a fourth-round compensatory pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Yahoo Sports reported.
Yahoo also said the Chiefs are projected to have two comp picks in the 2023 draft: a third-round pick for the Bears hiring KC executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles as general manager, and a seventh-round selection for defensive tackle Jarran Reid signing with Green Bay.
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 8:56 AM.
