The NFL offseason is where magic truly happens. No, it's not about the big names moving from team to team, but that certainly is a part of it. The true magic of the NFL offseason happens when teams are able to generate cap space out of seemingly nothing. That's exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs did in this offseason.
The Chiefs came into the offseason with the least cap space in the NFL. The Chiefs were actually in the negatives to start the offseason: not a good sign. However, Kansas City has a trick up its sleeve to generate cap space. Adam Schefter reports that the team has restructured the contract of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, clearing more than $43 million in cap space for the team this season.
“The Kansas City Chiefs restructured Patrick Mahomes’ contract this week, lowering his salary cap number from $78.2 to $34.65 million for the upcoming season and creating $43.56 million in salary cap space, as @Jason_OTC reported,” Schefter wrote on X.
In essence, the Chiefs are deferring part of Mahomes' cap hit this season into future “void” years. That allows them to create cap space to spend now while their Super Bowl window is still open. It's a common trend for teams to move around contracts, but it's still fascinating to witness in real-time.
With that newfound cap space, the Chiefs are now looking to retool their roster. Their inability to make it to the postseason last year was not due to Mahomes' ACL injury: Kansas City looked rough prior to the star getting injured. Glaring holes on offense and defense did the Chiefs in last season. The severe lack of a competent run game hurt their offense, and their pass rush woes outside of Chris Jones and George Karlaftis meant that opponents could grind the defense down.
With that in mind, a great running back and a pass-rusher to complement Karlaftis on the edge is at the top of the Chiefs' priorities. Big names to look out for are Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker and New York Jets RB Breece Hall, as well as Cincinnati Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson.
