KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 05: Head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on before the game against the New England Patriots at Arrowhead Stadium on October 05, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The Chiefs don’t have the salary-cap space required to spend big in free agency, but here are five targets Kansas City can realistically land.
Kansas City fans might be tempted to overreact to the team’s Super Bowl loss and ring in massive roster changes this offseason. Don’t expect the Chiefs’ front office to make that kind of mistake. The team’s higher-ups understand that they’ll still enter the 2021 campaign as a favorite to win Super Bowl LVI.
That doesn’t mean they won’t tweak the edges of the roster in free agency. The Chiefs currently project to land just under $22 million over next year’s projected salary-cap so they clearly won’t be big spenders in free agency. Instead, Kansas City needs to find bargains.
One strategy the front office should absolutely employ is to offer one-year deals to veterans looking to spend a season chasing a ring in Kansas City. That might be the best avenue available to the Chiefs if they want to land an impact free agent.
The list starts with one of the team’s own free agents that needs to be retained if the price is reasonable.
5. Austin Reiter
The Chiefs’ offensive line didn’t play well in their Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay, but most of those issues were on the perimeter. Reiter deserves credit for exceeding expectations in 2020 as the team’s starting center.
He doesn’t project to be anything more than a slightly above-average starter due to his lack of power in the run game. Reiter is, however, a good pass blocker. His ability to keep Patrick Mahomes’ clean is something Kansas City needs to retain. Letting him go would be a blow to the team’s already fragile offensive line.