Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach has been nothing short from impressive this off-season. After assembling the franchise’s first Super Bowl roster in 50 years, Veach has accomplished the impossible by securing three All-Pro players to multi-year extensions to ensure the team remains competitive for many years to come despite having just $177 in cap space to start with.
While most teams have the cap space for only one, maybe two, of their top starters, they’re usually forced to stand by and watch as other key players move on to play for a different team.
Not Kansas City, however.
Instead, they’ve managed to extend quarterback Patrick Mahomes, defensive tackle Chris Jones, and tight end Travis Kelce to multi-year extensions all in one off-season. Which may bring up the question, “who’s next?”
The Chiefs have plenty of other solid players that are deserving of a huge payday and whether that might be some point during the 2020 season, or later on in 2021, Mahomes’ contract gives Veach the financial freedom to pay almost anyone he wants before it hits the cap in 2022.
So without further ado, here are three Chiefs that could be next in line for a contract extension;
Tyreek Hill
Keeping your top receiver long-term should always be a priority, but if that guy is also the fastest receiver in the NFL and has the ability to take one to the house any moment he touches the football, you do whatever it takes to lock him up as soon as possible.
That’s what Tyreek Hill has been for Kansas City’s offense since he was drafted in 2016. The 26-year-old was already a dynamic playmaker with Alex Smith under center but turned his game up a whole other level when Patrick Mahomes came onto the scene.
In 2019, Hill finished regular season play with 58 receptions for 860 yards and 7 TDs with an additional 17 catches for 213 yards and 2 TDs during the postseason.
Now, claiming Hill deserves a new contract might sound a little ridiculous at first, considering he already signed a 3-year extension in 2019, that pays $54 million in new money. Hill is also scheduled to be a $17.7 million cap hit on Kansas City’s salary cap in 2020, according to the folks at over-the-cap.com.
Hill will also hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent in 2023 and will be 29-years-old at that point in his career. Personally, I believe one more contract from Kansas City will likely keep him in a Chiefs uniform forever. However, Hill may need a clean bill of health for that to happen since most receivers, who rely on their speed, tend to lose a step when they hit their 30s.
Only time will tell what Kansas City decides to do.
Mitchell Schwartz
Since the mid-2000s, the Chiefs have struggled to properly put together a strong offensive line unit. In fact, it’s been an issue that has yet to be addressed even under the Andy Reid regime. The laundry list of flops that have lined up on the o-line for Kansas City over the years is a long one.
However, one guy whose name absolutes does not make that list is right tackle, Mitchell Schwartz. In fact, one might argue that Schwartz is the best right tackle the Chiefs have had since John Tait departed in 2004.
According to Pro Football Focus, Schwartz received a 92.8 pass-blocking grade, the highest grade of any other offensive lineman per 100+ snaps, the lowest pressure percentage per 100+ pass-blocking snaps (0.70%), and only one pressure allowed in 142 pass-blocking snaps during the 2019 postseason.
Unless the Chiefs feel someone like rookie Lucas Niang could be a viable replacement in the future, Schwartz is not going to be a guy they’re gonna want to let slip away. Thus, signing him to a multi-year extension could be something that happens as soon as the next off-season.
Schwartz is scheduled to hit the open market in 2022 after he signed a one-year extension in 2019. He’ll be 33-years-old when his current contract expires and should have enough left in the tank for Kansas City to invest a few more years before he calls it a career.
Tyrann Mathieu
What can you say about 28-year-old safety Tyrann Mathieu? Since the product from LSU signed a three-year contract with the Chiefs in 2019, Mathieu has been everything Kansas City hoped he’d be and more.
Following the departure of Eric Berry, Mathieu stepped into the Kansas City locker room and took every one of the Chiefs’ young defensive backs under his wing and continues to be a vocal leader both on and off the field.
Mathieu has also been an advocate fighting the fight against systemic racism and equality for all.
Following the 2019 season, Mathieu is coming off of his first All-Pro season since 2015 that included 63 solo tackles to help propel the Chiefs to win Super Bowl 54.
The Honey Badger is the entire package for Kansas City: a leader, playmaker, role model, and overall, not a guy they’ll want to see leave following the 2021 season. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mathieu is another candidate to receive a multi-year contract from the Chiefs’ front office.
Every one of the players listed above are talented playmakers deserving of a multi-year contract but while there’s no guarantee Brett Veach will be able to do that when the time comes, the fact he was able to re-sign Travis Kelce, retain Chris Jones, and make Patrick Mahomes the highest paid athlete in pro-sports, is pretty damn encouraging.
