Arrowhead Pride
As the most active period of free agency comes to an end, which Kansas City players are trending?
The Kansas City Chiefs were pretty active during the free agency period, making a handful of splash signings and re-signing many of their own free agents. Let’s see which Kansas City players were trending up — and which ones were trending down — as the first wave of free agency came to and end.
Right guard Trey Smith: We don’t yet know how the team’s contract negotiations with Smith will turn out, but we know which way they’re headed. Not only did the Chiefs franchise-tag Smith (and publicly state they are working on a long-term deal with him), they also traded away their other highly-paid interior lineman: left guard Joe Thuney. It should have been obvious that Kansas City wouldn’t pay both guards over $20 million a year, so it wasn’t a big surprise that they chose the younger star to anchor the interior over the long term.
New left guard Kingsley Suamataia: Forget all the “bust” talk after the second-round rookie struggled at left tackle. All signs point to Suamataia having a real chance to become a very good left guard. Trust the Chiefs’ actions more than their words. They said they like Suamataia at guard — and then they acted by trading Thuney to clear the path for him. He’s the most likely starter in mini-camps and OTAs — and even if he’s not at left tackle, he could prove to be well worth the draft pick. If he does work out at left guard, the offensive line might be significantly better positioned for 2025 and beyond.
Wide receiver Hollywood Brown: The veteran wideout signed another one-year deal similar to the one he signed last season — and may be the player who will benefit the most from how this offseason has gone with the wide receiver group. Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice are both facing uncertainty from incidents that may (or may not) lead to league suspensions. The hope is that both will be on the field — where they are great complements to what Brown does best — but if either one misses time, the Chiefs will have to rely on their newly re-signed veterans: Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster. This offense looks better with Brown, so there’s hope that better days are ahead.
Others trending in the right direction: Punter Matt Araiza, cornerback Trent McDuffie, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, quarterback Gardner Minshew, defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and safety Chamarri Conner
Cornerback Joshua Williams: It’s easy to see when you review 2024’s snap counts: the team doesn’t trust Williams as a defender. He was among the leaders in special-teams snaps — but down the stretch, he hardly saw the field as a cornerback. The team can save over $3 million against the salary cap by releasing Williams — and it just added two other corners. Veteran...
