Kansas City Chiefs: Le’Veon Bell isn’t the answer at running back

Let’s just be blunt here… The Kansas City Chiefs cannot afford Le’Veon Bell.

The team gave a contract to wide receiver Sammy Watkins in the offseason worth around $16 million dollars per year. At the time, I thought the move was an overpay, but one that was justified. The Chiefs had Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Kareem Hunt all on rookie deals.

The extra money spent on Sammy Watkins was to ensure that Patrick Mahomes had all the help he needed around him to succeed in his first year as a starter.

This offense was supposed to be together for years to come. That was the plan, anyway. One thing you can always bet on in the NFL is that long-term plans rarely, if ever, work out exactly how teams hope. Per Spoctrac, the Chiefs actually have a decent chunk of change they can work  with next year. They are sitting at right around $44 million dollars in cap space. Not a ton of money, but it gives them some wiggle room.

That money will disappear fast, however. Dee Ford is going to be expensive, and it’s reasonable to think that one of him or Justin Houston, who carries a $21 million cap hit, will no longer be with the team.

The Chiefs also have only one starting cornerback, Kendall Fuller, under contract for 2019, and have other players like Tyreek Hill and Chris Jones up for extensions soon. Most, if not all, of the Chiefs cap space will be used to retain key pieces and sign a full incoming draft class.

That leaves no room to bring in a big fish like Le’Veon Bell.