The Kansas City Chiefs have a lot to figure out this offseason. Their bid for a three-peat failed, they have several free agents who could leave, and they want to figure out the status of Travis Kelce sooner than later.
The Chiefs have previously given Kelce a March 15 deadline to make a decision on his future as the star tight end considers retirement. The deadline lines up with an $11.5 million roster bonus and the money could have a significant impact on what Kansas City wants to do in free agency.
But while the Chiefs will likely give Kelce all the time he needs, an NFL analyst believes they should put the power back in their hands. It leads to one prediction that may be one of the worst Chiefs fans will see all offseason.
The Chiefs Can Find Cap Space Without Cutting Travis Kelce
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz dropped his list of bold offseason predictions last week and suggested that the Chiefs should cut Kelce to create cap space for the 2025 season. While he admitted it would be an extremely unpopular move, his contract would make sense from a business standpoint.
“According to Roster Management System, cutting Kelce would cost the Chiefs only $2.5 million in dead money while saving them over $17 million in cap space,” Schatz reasoned. “That’s important with the Chiefs currently having negative effective cap space (i.e. the cap space that they would have after signing at least 51 players and a projected rookie class).”
Schatz is correct in that the Chiefs have to find a way to find spending money this offseason. Over The Cap projects the Chiefs to have $7.9 million in cap space and $4.3 million in effective cap space entering the offseason. The number makes it difficult to retain guard Trey Smith, receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and edge rusher Charles Omenihu in free agency and $17 million would go a long way to make that happen.
But there are better ways to find that money than cutting a franchise legend. Kelce ranks first in Chiefs history in receptions (1,004), receiving yards (12,151) and touchdowns (77) and will go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the end of his career. This would be more simple if Kelce was declining but he was still productive last season, catching 97 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns.
Perhaps the answer is by restructuring Patrick Mahomes’s contract, which has already been done four times since signing a 10-year, $450 million contract in 2020. Or the Chiefs could extend Joe Thuney and structure the contract so that most of the cap hits are on the back end, clearing up some of the $26.9 million he’s set to count against the cap next season.
There’s also a chance that the Chiefs push back the roster bonus on Kelce’s contract, giving him more time to make a decision and avoiding a potential cap penalty if he retires after March 15.
All of this is a better idea than creating bad blood (no pun intended) with one of the greatest players in franchise history, making the idea of cutting him one of the worst predictions of the offseason.