Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Throughout the offseason, watch for your opportunity to submit your Kansas City Chiefs questions in The Feed, which is found on AP’s home page.
The Chiefs have already had a busy offseason before the league year even starts. Ahead of Monday’s “legal tampering” period, let’s see what’s on our readers’ minds.
ChiefConcern asks:
Knowing the situation with Rashee Rice, should the Chiefs invest big in a free agent wide receiver?
Simply put, hope is not a viable strategy for the Chiefs’ wide receiver room. Rice is developing a reputation that will seemingly always leave his availability in question from a league-discipline standpoint (in addition to finishing two of his three career seasons on injured reserve). Xavier Worthy will also miss a chunk of the offseason recovering from shoulder surgery.
The problem is, there are not many free agent wide receivers inspiring investment. Alec Pierce will probably be out of Kansas City’s price range. It will be difficult for the Chiefs (or even impossible) to sell Mike Evans on the Super Bowl potential with Mahomes’ status for the start of 2026 unknown. Do we want the Chiefs to sign another small receiver in Wan’Dale Robinson?
Bringing back Tyquan Thornton at the right price would be a shrewd move, but he is probably best used in a specialized role.
The idea of signing Jauan Jennings as a designated “X” receiver is intriguing, but it’s not clear if the Chiefs would go that route. I suspect Romeo Doubs will be overpaid; he would be an option to fill in for Rice as a high-volume target from the slot, while having the size to win outside in the event Rice and Worthy are available to share the field with him.
The Chiefs need to be thinking about receivers all offseason, but the bigger question is if any of Carnell Tate from Ohio State, Makai Lemon from USC, or Jordyn Tyson from Arizona State are worth taking with the ninth-overall selection.
I expect one of the Chiefs’ three top-40 picks to be a wide receiver.
Owlfan1200 asks:
What would one of the top free agent running backs be expected to cost? It seems like the risk of not getting Jerimiyah Love is pretty high. If we don’t sign an RB and Love doesn’t reach us, where do we find a quality RB?
I think the Chiefs will make a splashy signing to address the backfield early in free agency. The price may come higher than usual due to the draft class expectations being low behind Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love.
Joel Corry of CBS Sports — a former agent — predicted Kenneth Walker III of the Seattle Seahawks to sign a three-year, $39 million contract with $27.5 million guaranteed. Given the Chiefs’ usual tendencies in free agency, the hypothetical contract would probably pay Walker exactly $13 million each season. The first year would probably be paid via a signing bonus paired with a veteran minimum of $1.2 million base salary. That would see a year one cap hit of just over $5 million, with the cap charge ballooning to almost $17 million in 2027 and 2028.
Jacksonville Jaguars back Travis Etienne will sign for significantly less than Walker, though it’s not to say he’ll be inexpensive. Etienne brings the first-round pedigree and splash plays, while he is not always favored by advanced metrics.
There are players in the next tier that would be good options for Kansas City like Tyler Algeier of the Atlanta Falcons or Rico Dowdle of the Carolina Panthers. Those options, however, would need to be paired with an early draft pick, even Love if he falls, for me to feel great about where the room is.
Waye6589 asks:
How likely is it for the Chiefs to trade a key player instead of cutting them such as LB Drue Tranquill, cornerback Kristian Fulton, or tight end Noah Gray?
This question looks a little different in the wake of the Chiefs trading cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier this week. Fulton was a disappointing signing in last year’s free agency, but Kansas City probably isn’t dealing from its remaining cornerback depth with Jaylen Watson set for free agency.
I don’t think Tranquill and Gray are feasible trade candidates due to how deep this year’s draft is at their positions. There is no reason for a team to take on their moderately disproportionate salaries when it’s probably possible to find a comparable Week 1 option on Day 2 of the draft at linebacker or tight end.
I do suspect both players will eventually be given an ultimatum to take an incentive-laden salary reduction or be released.
Waye6589 also asks:
How many levers should the Chiefs pull when it comes to restructuring contracts to make space for free agency?
The Chiefs have gone from $50 million over the cap to about $23 million in breathing room, so they have already been somewhat aggressive. Trading Trent McDuffie — at a time many expected him to be extended — unexpectedly took an addition $13.6 million off of the Chiefs’ salary cap.
The Chiefs will undoubtedly need more salary cap space. They probably have enough space now to aggressively sign a couple of free agents and replace some of the bottom salaries in their current top 51 contracts with veteran minimum salaries. With an extra first-round selection, however, a draft class that was already going to be more expensive than the Chiefs are used to is now set to take up even more of the cap and the budget.
The Chiefs probably have a timeframe on the $22.5 million available via restructuring defensive tackle Chris Jones. $16 million of his $35 million in guaranteed 2026 compensation comes via a roster bonus. While the payable date is not publicly available, a similar payment was due on the third day of the 2025 league year. They will need to make a decision on how much of his contract to restructure before the bonus is due.
Center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith are also restructuring candidates, but their 2026 money is tied into large base salaries that can be altered at any time should the Chiefs decide to do so. I don’t expect their money to be touched until the Chiefs need the relief.
Whatever levers they should pull depend on what upgrades are actually available. Frustrating as the status quo is, teams don’t improve by aimlessly throwing money around — no matter how trendy the moves look in the moment.
Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! After the first wave of free agency, we will be back with a look at Kansas City’s remaining needs as focus shifts to the draft. Keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to ask your questions for our next offseason edition.
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