The Kansas City Chiefs, following a trade of All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, have been busily using the salary cap relief from the swap to shore up areas of needs via free agency.
Hill, in a move that shook the foundation of the Chiefs place atop the AFC, was shipped to Miami for five draft picks, with “The Cheetah” immediately signing a four-year, $120 million contract extension with the Dolphins. Headed to Kansas City are first and second-round, in addition to a fourth-round pick, all in the 2022 draft, and a fourth and sixth round selection in the 2023 draft. Perhaps just as importantly for roster stability, Kansas City now has cleared more than $18 million in salary cap space.
One of the first moves made by the Chiefs post-trade was a direct effort to recoup the lost productivity lost by Hill, with former Packer wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling signed to a 3-year, $30 million deal.
Valdes-Scantling was a fifth-round pick of the Packers in 2018, and caught 123 passes for 2,153 yards and 13 touchdowns in four seasons playing with Aaron Rodgers.
The Chiefs also took a flyer on former Baylor University wide receiver Corey Coleman, the #15 overall pick in the 2016 draft.
Coleman’s star-crossed pro career has seen stops in Cleveland, Buffalo, New England, and with the New York Giants. He spent the 2021 season out of professional football after tearing his ACL in 2019, and spending 2020 on the New York practice squad.
Prior to the trade of Hill, the Chiefs found room around the cramped salary cap crunch to sign former Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and former Houston Texans safety Justin Reid, with the second move likely as a replacement for Tyrann Mathieu, who is expected to leave Kansas City via free agency this offseason.
Kansas City did lose safety Daniel Sorenson in the free agency pool. After eight seasons with the Chiefs, “Dirty Dan” signed a one-year deal with the NFC South’s New Orleans Saints.
Re-signing with Kansas City are defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and back-up quarterback Chad Henne. Austin Reiter was brought back at the center position to back-up starter Creed Humphrey, with the Chiefs announcing the signing of left tackle Geron Christian, formerly of the Houston Texans. Tight-end Blake Bell is also returning to the Chiefs after inking a one-year deal.
On Monday, Kansas City signed long-time Chicago Bears safety Deon Bush, agreeing to terms with a seven-year veteran known more for special teams work than defensive highlights for Chicago.
The Chiefs signed former Kansas State linebacker Elijah Lee and cornerback Luq Barcoo in moves to provide depth at both positions. Lee has spent NFL time with Minnesota, San Francisco, Detroit, and Cleveland, after entering the league as a seventh-round pick of the Vikings in 2017. Barcoo was an undrafted free agent signing by Jacksonville in 2020. The San Diego State product has also spent time in the Cardinals and 49ers organizations.
