It’s mid-May, and we have entered the doldrums of the NFL offseason. The big-name free agents have been signed, the draft has come and gone, and the 18-game league schedule has been set. But for the Kansas City Chiefs, there is still work to be done, and general manager Brett Veach is at the center of it.
Kansas City ranks 30 out of 32 teams in available cap space with just $6.92 million left to use, according to Spotrac. Going into any season, that would be more than enough to make some moves within the 17-game schedule, be it trades or a late-season signee for a final playoff push. But as things stand right now, draft picks Mansoor Delane (No. 6 overall), Peter Woods (No. 29 overall), R Mason Thomas (No. 40 overall), and Jadon Canady (No. 109 overall) all remain officially unsigned. It’s estimated that the combined cap hits of the Chiefs' four-highest draftees for this season will be roughly $14.28 million.
Well, if you’re like me and excel at a third-grade math level, 14.28 is a bigger number than 6.92. Now don’t freak out. This doesn’t mean that these rookies won’t play for the Chiefs or that there is some kind of contractual holdout one way or another. It simply means that for better or for worse, Veach is taking his sweet time on a well-thought-out plan to open up more cap space and create room on the financial sheets for these rookies to put pen to paper. That then begs the question, what the heck are the Chiefs going to do to free up more cap? A detailed breakdown of the variety of avenues Veach could take follows.
Chiefs may need Brett Veach magic for rookie cap space
The Chiefs' front office has been busy this offseason in terms of creating cap relief by cutting Jawaan Taylor and Mike Danna, trading Trent McDuffie, and letting a bevy of free agents find new homes rather than sign them to costly long-term deals. They also utilized arguably the best constructed contract in sports once again by restructuring Patrick Mahomes' deal, saving a whopping $43 million.
But the grind never stops, and the Chiefs have to find a way to open up another $10-$15 million over the next few days in time for everybody to be signed and ready for the real offseason practices. The most glaring option would be to tinker with Chris Jones’ team-leading $44.85 million cap hit, which could be done in a heartbeat and instantly open up the needed capital.Â
However, doing so, with such a large contract like Jones’ would create massive hits the following two seasons, potentially over $50 million a piece. Kansas City has been staunch this offseason in its refusal to mess with his contract, and I think that belief remains the same. I don’t see anything happening with the star defensive tackle.
Creed Humphrey and George Karlaftis are clear cap space options for Chiefs
The next and most obvious path, I believe, is to undergo a double restructure of both Creed Humphrey and George Karlaftis’s contracts. The young center and defensive end have cap hits of $18.1 million and $15.1 million, respectively, which, given the talent of both players and the position Karlaftis plays at, are already very low numbers. If Kansas City decides to go all-in and do a full-on money saver, they could open up nearly $17 million in cap space, which would give the Chiefs over $24 million to spend.Â
This would not only allow them to sign their four rookies, but also allow space to bring in another needed receiver or pass-rusher on a one-year deal. Both Humphrey and Karlaftis are signed long-term and are foundational pieces in KC’s future. Increasing their upcoming cap hits by a smidge, when the Chiefs will likely pay them once again in a year or two, would be no sweat at all. It would also be another move that would prove once again, Veach is in a class of his own among GMs.
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