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• Kelce was seen bouncing around San Francisco parties and events, even as the soon-to-be-married man’s next move remains uncertain. While retirement has been discussed, many close to him believe he could return for at least one more season. A final decision has yet to be made, but a 14th season is looking more real than ever.
1. Fourth quarter flops
As I said, the list could grow long. But let’s start with the story of the Chiefs’ season.
For seven years, their magic had been turning early deficits into late wins.
This year? Poof. The magic was gone.
In the 14 games Patrick Mahomes started, the Chiefs had at least a 50% win probability in the fourth quarter in 12 of them. Yet they were 6-8 and gone from the playoff picture by early December. They couldn’t close out a win. They couldn’t come back from a deficit.
“It just flipped on us,” head coach Andy Reid said of one-score games.
When Kansas City acquired QB Matt Cassel in a trade with the Patriots in 2009, then 33-year-old Mike Vrabel was a throw-in on the deal. He played his final two NFL seasons with the Chiefs, starting 30 games for the team. During that span, he recorded 100 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, seven passes defended, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. He was also used in the red zone on offense at times, catching two passes for three yards and two touchdowns.
It wasn’t glamorous, as Vrabel only won 14 of those 30 games played with the Chiefs, but it was more than an asterisk at the end of a great NFL playing career.
“I remember being a team that was [4-12] one year and 10-6 the next one — won the division — I was proud of that,” Vrabel said back in 2019. “The fans — I remember the fans. The Hunt family — great people. It was a great place to finish up my career, a great town, the kids loved it.”
Lee was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Additional charges could be pending following the outcome of the investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
Upon arrival, first responders located a female victim and attempted life-saving measures.
“Due to the condition of the victim and the residence, HCSO Criminal Investigative Services Detectives responded. Preliminary findings indicate the victim’s death was the result of a homicide,” the Hamilton County sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Around the NFL
Offensive coordinator: Either QB could blow it
Seattle is a more talented football team, but right now, the Patriots have a horseshoe up their ass and confidence that is affecting their ability to win games.
Both teams have the ability to win it on defense, which, to me, keeps it close.
If New England turns the ball over or if Seattle is hitting on all cylinders on offense, they have the firepower between the back (Kenneth Walker III) and the wideout (Smith-Njigba) and the system to put up a lot of points fast.
If it becomes a blowout, I don’t see New England capable of blowing out Seattle. I see Seattle capable of blowing out New England.
I see it being a close game because of two good defenses that I think are going to both play decent. I don’t see either quarterback stealing the game. I see a good, solid football game with good scheme and solid players. Mike Macdonald is the best there is as a defensive play caller, and Josh McDaniels is the best on offense.
Nicknamed “the Zombieland,” the celebration has accompanied some of the biggest moments of the Patriots’ season en route to Super Bowl LX, but its origin is rooted 1,000 miles away and three years ago in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where a pair of Western Kentucky defensive backs came up with the move as they posed for pictures at a team media day in 2022. Since then, the celebration has crisscrossed the country from Western Kentucky to Washington State to the Miami Hurricanes to the NFL thanks to an upwardly mobile offensive coordinator, a future No. 1 draft pick and social media.
And now, nearly 3½ years after its inception, the celebration could hit the worldwide stage at Levi’s Stadium as the Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl (6:30 p.m. ET, NBC).
“It’s just crazy,” former Western Kentucky wide receiver Daewood Davis told ESPN. “Just to see something we created in a practice in Bowling Green, Kentucky, just having fun playing football and now it’s one of the top celebrations in the world for high schoolers, for college, for NFL, for celebrities, man. It’s such a surreal moment for us.”
After the Cleveland Browns passed him up for their head-coaching vacancy, Jim Schwartz is resigning as their defensive coordinator, the team announced Friday.
Schwartz is not free to move on to another job for the 2026 season, however, as he remains under contract with the Browns because he resigned and was not fired. According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, he’s expected to sit out the season.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
The Chiefs enter the offseason more than $54 million over the cap, according to OverTheCap’s calculations. Cutting Jawaan Taylor, Mike Danna, Drue Tranquill and Noah Gray would save nearly $40 million against the cap. Restructuring Patrick Mahomes’ deal could save up to an additional $44 million. Starting with those five moves would bring the Chiefs’ available cap space to approximately $28 million. That sounds like a big number until you start adding players to the roster.
Taking into account the Chiefs’ projected draft pool ($12.7 million) and a free agent running back (approximately $5-10 million), suddenly, there’s only $5-10 million left to spend on free agency. It gets tight, quick.
Unless…
Kansas City adds roughly $13 million by trading McDuffie. From a cap perspective, it’s a simple move. His fully guaranteed salary would not result in any dead money on the books.
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