Brett Veach's History Suggests Chiefs Won't Re-Sign Two All-Pros

Brett Veach and the Chiefs face an interesting conundrum after the 2024 season with several notable players up for extensions like Nick Bolton, Creed Humphrey, and Trey Smith, with Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis one year closer to possible new contracts themselves.

During Veach's tenure, the Chiefs have routinely let players in the secondary and offensive line walk instead of paying big contracts. How he chooses to handle the upcoming negotiations will help define the next half-decade of Kansas City football, though his track record suggests several key pieces won't be re-signed.

While I believe the organization will re-sign a rising star like Trent McDuffie ultimately, it's hard to ignore the recent history under Veach.

Brett Veach's Track Record Suggests Creed Humphrey and Trent McDuffie Could Walk

If you look back at Veach's time running the front office, Kansas City elected not to re-sign Mitch Morse, Orlando Brown Jr., Tyrann Mathieu, Charvarius Ward, and now L'Jarius Sneed. The team did sign Joe Thuney to a large contract in free agency, though they haven't re-signed one of their own offensive linemen to any big extension.

Humphrey is an All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler. He'll likely command one of the largest contracts in the NFL at his position, if not the largest. McDuffie became a First-Team All-Pro player last season and enters this season as the face of the secondary.

Smith will likely also require a hefty deal, and it's hard to imagine the Chiefs keeping everyone. This is the consequence of routinely-excellent drafts. If most of your draft picks turn into stars, they'll eventually need to be paid.

Veach has done a tremendous job backfilling positions to prepare for free agency, finding guys like Sneed himself, Smith, Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, and more when it became obvious the team would need starters in the near future.

Kansas City drafted three offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft, perhaps preparing for eventual departures from Humphrey, Smith, or Thuney. Next offseason will represent a fork in the road for the organization. Here's hoping they'll be celebrating a third consecutive Super Bowl win as they consider the difficult decisions ahead.

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