Chiefs v Broncos II game thread

[jetlord 10,209]

2 hours ago, xen said:

They're gonna have to get better coaches or Andy will have to retire before I worry that they can do more than win one here or there.

Or the Chiefs get deep into cap problems and can't keep the supporting cast around Mahomes.  Right now it the IOL and LBs, but guys like Nnadi and Thornhill will be wanting the bigger bucks soon.  The Chiefs can't afford to whiff on second round picks any more.  Gotta get several starters or soon to be starters in every draft. 

[xen 1,010,220]

1 hour ago, jetlord said:

Or the Chiefs get deep into cap problems and can't keep the supporting cast around Mahomes.  Right now it the IOL and LBs, but guys like Nnadi and Thornhill will be wanting the bigger bucks soon.  The Chiefs can't afford to whiff on second round picks any more.  Gotta get several starters or soon to be starters in every draft. 

Keep a top of the line receiving group (including tight end) and we'll be aight with Mahomes.  We've already shown we can be dominant while saving on entire position groups (LB, IOL, CB).

Nnadi will sign for fairly cheap.  Non pass rushing IDL does not get paid the big bucks.  But if not NT a position where you can get good players later in the draft.  

Keep our strengths strong and we'll be ok.  Keep feeding the beast.

Speaks is the only 2nd round pick Veach has whiffed on.

[jetlord 10,209]

1 minute ago, xen said:

Keep a top of the line receiving group (including tight end) and we'll be aight with Mahomes.  We've already shown we can be dominant while saving on entire position groups (LB, IOL, CB).

Nnadi will sign for fairly cheap.  Non pass rushing IDL does not get paid the big bucks.  But if not NT a position where you can get good players later in the draft.  

Keep our strengths strong and we'll be ok.  Keep feeding the beast.

Losing Niang, LDT, and later, Osemele isn't Veach's fault, but they absolutely have to address the OC position and prepare to replace the OTs.  All the Mahomes + weapons in the world won't  help with a line of matadors.  

[xen 1,010,220]

2 minutes ago, jetlord said:

Losing Niang, LDT, and later, Osemele isn't Veach's fault, but they absolutely have to address the OC position and prepare to replace the OTs.  All the Mahomes + weapons in the world won't  help with a line of matadors.  

Really?  Cause we're 10-1 with a group of has beens, never was's, and who cares on the oline this year.

 

[jetlord 10,209]

1 minute ago, xen said:

Really?  Cause we're 10-1 with a group of has beens, never was's, and who cares on the oline this year.

 

We care because Mahomes is getting hit more.  We care because the Chiefs can't score on first and goal from the one or make two yards on the ground on third and short.  We care because CEH can be an effective weapon with a decent line.  Outside of that, you have a point.  Just stay out of the red zone and sling it or settle for five FGs. 

[xen 1,010,220]

Just now, jetlord said:

We care because Mahomes is getting hit more.  We care because the Chiefs can't score on first and goal from the one or make two yards on the ground on third and short.  We care because CEH can be an effective weapon with a decent line.  Outside of that, you have a point.  Just stay out of the red zone and sling it or settle for five FGs. 

I didn't say I didn't care or we don't need a better line.  I said we've already proven we can get it done without.  As you already alluded to, it's not like Veach ignored it, its just circumstances have us where we are.  

2nd in the league in scoring (less than a point out of first) but we hit a bit of a red zone slump for a couple games and y'all act like we havent had a good red zone offense with those same types of linemen.

[Calichief 3,016]

5 hours ago, xen said:

I didn't say I didn't care or we don't need a better line.  I said we've already proven we can get it done without.  As you already alluded to, it's not like Veach ignored it, its just circumstances have us where we are.  

2nd in the league in scoring (less than a point out of first) but we hit a bit of a red zone slump for a couple games and y'all act like we havent had a good red zone offense with those same types of linemen.

I’m more concerned about the pass rush. And anyways, wiz is back. Championship!

[Lamardirts 2,114]

6 hours ago, xen said:

Keep a top of the line receiving group (including tight end) and we'll be aight with Mahomes.  We've already shown we can be dominant while saving on entire position groups (LB, IOL, CB).

Nnadi will sign for fairly cheap.  Non pass rushing IDL does not get paid the big bucks.  But if not NT a position where you can get good players later in the draft.  

Keep our strengths strong and we'll be ok.  Keep feeding the beast.

Speaks is the only 2nd round pick Veach has whiffed on.

Kpass and Hardman have not lived up to their billing.   Kpass is decent depth at best on the DL.  Doesn't play the run exceptionally well nor does he much of a pass rush.  He was physical specimen that got way over drafted.   Hardman is year 2 and still can't figure out how to run a crisp route tree. Talented but has to have gadget plays drawn up for him, can't just make plays in the normal flow of the offense.   Thornhill was a great 2nd round pick,.   Gay I think will be a great pick but we didn't much of anything out of his first year.   I understand drafting guys with high ceiling but if they can't contribute early on then your getting 1-2 years out of a 4 year contract for a player that , at least now after the Mahomes & Jones contract, need to produce earlier on in the contract.  

Fortunately for us with this new EB coaching comp situation we should have 8 picks in the first 5 rounds (1,2,3,3,4,4,5,5).   If we can nail this draft we could literally have a good chance of winning multiple SB's in a row.      Whiff on this draft and we might be looking at an Aaron Rodgers trajectory of always having a chance but not quite having the players needed around him.  

[Lamardirts 2,114]

6 hours ago, xen said:

I didn't say I didn't care or we don't need a better line.  I said we've already proven we can get it done without.  As you already alluded to, it's not like Veach ignored it, its just circumstances have us where we are.  

2nd in the league in scoring (less than a point out of first) but we hit a bit of a red zone slump for a couple games and y'all act like we havent had a good red zone offense with those same types of linemen.

We really haven't.  We score on deep plays a lot.   The Broncos game we missed 3 TD's that none of which would have counted as RZ TD's.   We are explosive and good but our IOL is so dang bad we struggle to gain one yard.  I think its why Bell hasn't looked as good as he could have.  A patient runner behind our OL is going to wait for a hole that will never open.  Its better to burst through and get your 3-4 than try and wait for a better option.   With that said if Schwartz can come back healthy and we can get Wiz and Rankins in the game we should be able to rectify that!

[mex 65,581]

On 12/7/2020 at 7:50 AM, oldtimer said:

because  Shovel Passes and sweeps aren't cutesy..never were ...IMO.

I call it cutesy when you're on the 1 and don't try to punch it in

3rd and goal at the one, you lose 5 yards?!? That's cutesy 

I'm no coach but that play call could have been better

yeah yeah 20/20 hindsight... but still I was shaking my head on that one

 

[mex 65,581]

On 12/7/2020 at 11:11 AM, xen said:

Plus its hard to tell if it was schematic or playcalling issues without looking at all 22 film.  Andy calls a lot of RPOs down close and usually has 2 plays in at a time.  It's hard to tell until you see film if a play was an RPO considering a lot of times you can't see the blocking on broadcast.  It's usually an execution problem, not a play calling issue as theoretically you should be able to find a mismatch with all those options.

aren't most of the mismatches Andy creates due to the obscene speed of our receiving corps? I mean, who do you double because PM will exploit who ends up in single

that is effective at midfield when the defense is stretched... seems to me that at the one yard line, the defense is compressed thereby reducing the value of any mismatch

I was thinking Bell all the way... the kid is huge, fights for every yard, and is patient waiting for holes to open

he's built for the goal line

[xen 1,010,220]

4 hours ago, Lamardirts said:

Kpass and Hardman have not lived up to their billing.   Kpass is decent depth at best on the DL.  Doesn't play the run exceptionally well nor does he much of a pass rush.  He was physical specimen that got way over drafted.   Hardman is year 2 and still can't figure out how to run a crisp route tree. Talented but has to have gadget plays drawn up for him, can't just make plays in the normal flow of the offense.   Thornhill was a great 2nd round pick,.   Gay I think will be a great pick but we didn't much of anything out of his first year.   I understand drafting guys with high ceiling but if they can't contribute early on then your getting 1-2 years out of a 4 year contract for a player that , at least now after the Mahomes & Jones contract, need to produce earlier on in the contract.  

Fortunately for us with this new EB coaching comp situation we should have 8 picks in the first 5 rounds (1,2,3,3,4,4,5,5).   If we can nail this draft we could literally have a good chance of winning multiple SB's in a row.      Whiff on this draft and we might be looking at an Aaron Rodgers trajectory of always having a chance but not quite having the players needed around him.  

KPass was a Dorsey pick, not Veach.

Hardman has shown improvement in his routes and appears to be on the Andy Reid 3 year development plan like most WRs who get drafted under Reid.  

[xen 1,010,220]

1 minute ago, mex said:

aren't most of the mismatches Andy creates due to the obscene speed of our receiving corps? I mean, who do you double because PM will exploit who ends up in single

that is effective at midfield when the defense is stretched... seems to me that at the one yard line, the defense is compressed thereby reducing the value of any mismatch

I was thinking Bell all the way... the kid is huge, fights for every yard, and is patient waiting for holes to open

he's built for the goal line

Sure, speed helps but Andy is probably the best schematic coach I've ever seen on offense, and most definitely the best KC has ever had.  His ability to scheme guys open is amazing.  The downside is, to be able to do this, WRs have to know every WR position so they can move around.  That, and how complicated the offense is, leads to WRs taking longer to develop than most systems.  Which is why we have people bitching about Mecole.  I guess I'm old enough to remember when fans thought Tyreek was just going to be a gadget player and had to be schemed open his first 2 years.

[oldtimer 8,686]

5 hours ago, Lamardirts said:

Kpass and Hardman have not lived up to their billing.   Kpass is decent depth at best on the DL.  Doesn't play the run exceptionally well nor does he much of a pass rush.  He was physical specimen that got way over drafted.   Hardman is year 2 and still can't figure out how to run a crisp route tree. Talented but has to have gadget plays drawn up for him, can't just make plays in the normal flow of the offense.   Thornhill was a great 2nd round pick,.   Gay I think will be a great pick but we didn't much of anything out of his first year.   I understand drafting guys with high ceiling but if they can't contribute early on then your getting 1-2 years out of a 4 year contract for a player that , at least now after the Mahomes & Jones contract, need to produce earlier on in the contract.  

Fortunately for us with this new EB coaching comp situation we should have 8 picks in the first 5 rounds (1,2,3,3,4,4,5,5).   If we can nail this draft we could literally have a good chance of winning multiple SB's in a row.      Whiff on this draft and we might be looking at an Aaron Rodgers trajectory of always having a chance but not quite having the players needed around him.  

his trajectory this year seems pretty good..seems to be a 50/50 with Patrick on MVP  and the NFC team many believe will be in the SB

[mex 65,581]

31 minutes ago, xen said:

Sure, speed helps but Andy is probably the best schematic coach I've ever seen on offense, and most definitely the best KC has ever had.  His ability to scheme guys open is amazing.  The downside is, to be able to do this, WRs have to know every WR position so they can move around.  That, and how complicated the offense is, leads to WRs taking longer to develop than most systems.  Which is why we have people bitching about Mecole.  I guess I'm old enough to remember when fans thought Tyreek was just going to be a gadget player and had to be schemed open his first 2 years.

I love mecole... he's a true wildcard that can be played when we need him... he needs to develop... and I think he is but complicated offenses take time to learn

a lot of these guys have gotten by on pure athleticism during their careers and I can't imaging what it takes to learn Andy's playbook

which gives me even more respect for PM if that were even possible

[Palangi 788]

6 hours ago, Lamardirts said:

Kpass and Hardman have not lived up to their billing.   Kpass is decent depth at best on the DL.  Doesn't play the run exceptionally well nor does he much of a pass rush.  He was physical specimen that got way over drafted.   Hardman is year 2 and still can't figure out how to run a crisp route tree. Talented but has to have gadget plays drawn up for him, can't just make plays in the normal flow of the offense.   Thornhill was a great 2nd round pick,.   Gay I think will be a great pick but we didn't much of anything out of his first year.   I understand drafting guys with high ceiling but if they can't contribute early on then your getting 1-2 years out of a 4 year contract for a player that , at least now after the Mahomes & Jones contract, need to produce earlier on in the contract.  

Fortunately for us with this new EB coaching comp situation we should have 8 picks in the first 5 rounds (1,2,3,3,4,4,5,5).   If we can nail this draft we could literally have a good chance of winning multiple SB's in a row.      Whiff on this draft and we might be looking at an Aaron Rodgers trajectory of always having a chance but not quite having the players needed around him.  

Let Niang take LT and trade Fisher to the bears for their 2nd round pick. 

That would give us 2 2nds also

[sith13 1,746]

The only way to get sustainable success is via the draft. We'll be paying Mahomes for quite a while and likely some to the supporting cast but we need to draft well to keep up the success. Sometimes the best player is the one that will contribute in the short term without a high ceiling in the long term, that's a draft mentality we need to start seeing in Veach. Otherwise we'll simply be paying any player by the time they are worth something. For long term sustainability of success it's essential to have some guys leave after their rookie deals and go for 2nd tier FAs that will outplay their contracts. 

[KC Warpaint 3,234]

1 hour ago, Palangi said:

Let Niang take LT and trade Fisher to the bears for their 2nd round pick. 

That would give us 2 2nds also

that won't happen because Nagy will probably be fired at the end of the season

[kkuenn 3,597]

Draft well, plug in with the FA also. Don't forget we are starting to see FA players come here for less to play with Mahomes and a chance  to get to the SB. They will use us for the try one, then bigger contract and we will benefit for it.

[xen 1,010,220]

10 minutes ago, kkuenn said:

Draft well, plug in with the FA also. Don't forget we are starting to see FA players come here for less to play with Mahomes and a chance  to get to the SB. They will use us for the try one, then bigger contract and we will benefit for it.

Plus there are going to be a shit ton of vets looking for cheap one year deals this offseason if the cap goes to 175m next year.

[jetlord 10,209]

3 hours ago, mex said:

I call it cutesy when you're on the 1 and don't try to punch it in

3rd and goal at the one, you lose 5 yards?!? That's cutesy 

I'm no coach but that play call could have been better

yeah yeah 20/20 hindsight... but still I was shaking my head on that one

 

The Chiefs should have tried to punch it in, but experience with this line shows that they have to do it someplace other than the A gap.  Reiter and Wylie are beaten before the RB even has the ball in his hands.  The Chiefs aren't alone in that regard.  Several games this week we've seen teams fail on multiple attempts from the one.  What gets me is a team with first and goal from the four that makes three on first down then passes on the next two.  Saw that several times as well.  I also don't understand the idea of deep handoffs on short yardage plays.  Guess that's why my NFL head coaching career was so short. 

[jetlord 10,209]

29 minutes ago, xen said:

Plus there are going to be a shit ton of vets looking for cheap one year deals this offseason if the cap goes to 175m next year.

If the cap goes to $176.1 million as is now projected, can the Chiefs afford even the cheap one year deals?  Clark and Hitchens are pretty much locked in for next season and we don't yet have replacements for Fisher or Schwartz so I'm not sure how the Chiefs create cap space other than restructuring contracts.  They'll also need money to reward Neiman with a long term contract.  😉

[Iluvhouse24 1,808]

9 minutes ago, jetlord said:

If the cap goes to $176.1 million as is now projected, can the Chiefs afford even the cheap one year deals?  Clark and Hitchens are pretty much locked in for next season and we don't yet have replacements for Fisher or Schwartz so I'm not sure how the Chiefs create cap space other than restructuring contracts.  They'll also need money to reward Neiman with a long term contract.  😉

Unfortunately Fisher has already been restructured. So an extension is probably the only way to make that number manageable.

[kkuenn 3,597]

18 minutes ago, Iluvhouse24 said:

Unfortunately Fisher has already been restructured. So an extension is probably the only way to make that number manageable.

Trade his ass and cut a couple more contracts not living up to the deal. LDT would be another. Taking Mahomes 21 million roster bonus and converting g it to a signing bonus over 5 years is going to happen. You can restructure Hill, Clark again and Jones.  Cut Okafor etc. Many of it explained here

 

 

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/gm-report/how-the-chiefs-can-survive-the-2021-salary-cap

 

How the Chiefs can get Under $175 Million in Salary Cap Hits in 2021

The NFL has ruled on how potential revenue shortfalls will affect the salary cap, and the news isn’t great for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The lowest the 2021 salary cap can now drop, due to lower-than-expected profits because of COVID-19, is $175 million. This would be a drop of $23.2 million compared to the 2020 salary cap.

For some teams, this number won’t be terribly hard to hit. The Indianapolis Colts have an effective salary cap space of over $108 million in 2021. For other teams, this number might be nearly impossible to hit. The Eagles are $54 million over the previously-projected salary cap in 2021, per overthecap.com, and this projection (along with the Colts') is based on the salary cap rising.

Where do the Chiefs land? Closer to the Eagles, but not exactly in their special slice of salary cap hell. As of now, if the salary cap was $175 million and cap rollovers were factored in, the Chiefs would be roughly $21.6 million over the salary cap in 2021.

“Roughly” is used intentionally here, as the specifics of how exactly opted-out players will impact the cap is unknown right now. The general consensus seems to be that if a player opts out of the season this year, then their contract will “toll,” essentially shifting their current contract down the road by one year.

The Chiefs have had two players opt out of the 2020 season: running back Damien Williams and guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Their combined $8.2 million salary cap hit will now carry over into the 2021 season and will be taken off the 2020 salary cap.

Note: There is a bit of confusion about how exactly LDT’s contract will toll as the contract, before he opted out, would have voided in 2021. Now that his contract tolls, his number becomes a bit uncertain.

All of this is a fancy way of saying that if a player opts out of the 2020 season, their contract doesn’t count on the 2020 salary cap.

One thing that must be considered when talking about the 2021 salary cap is that the Chiefs only have 50 players under contract in 2021 as it currently stands, according to Over the Cap. A ton of good players and solid depth will also become free agents next year, including names like Charvarius Ward (RFA), Sammy Watkins, Bashaud Breeland, Daniel Sorenson, Mike Pennel, and more. The Chiefs will need to retain or replace this depth next year in order to stay competitive for a Super Bowl.

If we consider all these things, it still all leads to the same conclusion. The Chiefs will need to make some tough choices in 2021 if the salary cap does indeed come in at $175 million. However, there are many ways for the Chiefs to hit this mark and it will require more salary cap genius by Brett Veach and company to do so.

For the following examples, a team salary cap of $187.8 million will be assumed as the Chiefs salary cap in 2021. This is the $175 million set by the league, plus the $12.8 million in salary cap space the Chiefs have right now.

Patrick Mahomes’ roster bonus

The first thing the Chiefs will almost assuredly look at in order to save money is Patrick Mahomes’ $21.7 million roster bonus.

In The Art of NFL Contracts: Part 4, I went over how teams can restructure contracts to save money, and that is mainly what the Chiefs would do with Mahomes’ roster bonus. The Chiefs would convert the money in a roster bonus to a signing bonus, which the team could then spread out over five years against the salary cap.

If the Chiefs convert all of Mahomes’ 2021 roster bonus to a signing bonus, the team can immediately save $17.4 million. This doesn’t come without a cost, however. Mahomes’ salary cap hit until 2025 would go up by $4.4 million each year. This isn’t a small chunk of change.

The Chiefs can choose a smaller portion to convert to a signing bonus, but Mahomes’ roster bonus is definitely the first place the Chiefs will be looking for instant salary cap savings, as Mahomes is the safest bet the Chiefs can mortgage some of the future on.

2021 salary cap savings:

Convert full roster bonus: $17.4 million

Convert $12 million of roster bonus: $9.6 million

Restructure veteran contracts

After Mahomes, there are other players that could be in line for contract restructurings.

Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and Tyreek Hill are all established veterans that would have multiple years on their contracts in 2021 that could be targeted for savings by converting salaries or roster bonuses into signing bonuses. We already saw Frank Clark restructure in the 2020 offseason, so he seems fine with the idea of doing this.

One thing to remember with contract restructures is that it makes the player harder to cut in the future, due to pushing guaranteed money later into the deal. This can be seen with linebacker Anthony Hitchens, as he is currently uncuttable because he restructured his contract by a fair bit in the 2019 offseason, pushing guaranteed money into the later parts of his deal.

Jones, Clark, and Hill are established veterans for the Chiefs who would be good bets still, so they will be prime candidates for restructures come 2021. Like Mahomes, their whole salaries/roster bonuses don’t have to be converted, but if they were, that would mean the most immediate salary cap savings.

2021 salary cap savings:

Tyreek Hill, convert full roster bonus of $11.8 million: $5.9 million

Chris Jones, convert full base salary of $20.6 million: $13.7 million

Frank Clark, convert full base salary of $17.6 million: $11.7 million

Cut Eric Fisher

There is only one player the Chiefs could cut to save more than the $11.5 million in salary cap space the Chiefs would get back if they cut left tackle Eric Fisher, and that would be cutting Tyrann Mathieu. The latter scenario seems very unlikely currently, so the safest bet for a large salary cap savings cut is Fisher.

Whether this happens would most likely be predicated on whether Lucas Niang progresses nicely off his injury and in rookie year. It’s hard to imagine the Chiefs releasing a safe, starting left tackle if they do not have a solid replacement. If Niang is ready though, Fisher’s time on the Chiefs might be coming to an end.

2021 salary cap savings: Cut in 2021 offseason: $11.5 million

Cut Anthony Hitchens

In the 2021 offseason, Hitchens is finally cuttable.

Possibly Brett Veach’s worst move as GM, Hitchens has never contributed enough to justify his contract. A restructure in 2019 has basically made him uncuttable until 2021 at the earliest, and even then, he would have to be cut with a post-June 1 designation, spreading out his dead money over two seasons.

Much like cutting Fisher, whether Hitchens is cut is probably dependent on how a 2020 rookie looks this year. If Willie Gay Jr. progresses nicely and can assume the role as the play-caller on defense, it might be Hitchens’ last season with the Chiefs.

2021 salary cap savings: Cut with June 1 designation in 2021 offseason: $6.5 million

Cut Alex Okafor

Whether Okafor stays with the Chiefs in 2021 will matter on how well he plays in 2020, and even that might not be enough.

The veteran makes almost $8 million in 2021 and with only $2 million in dead cap space, so he is a prime cut candidate to get the Chiefs closer to the lower cap. Okafor would have to play extremely well for the Chiefs to not be enticed by this amount of salary cap savings.

2021 salary cap savings: Cut in 2021 offseason: $5.95 million

Extend some veterans

There are a couple of veteran players the Chiefs could extend to lower their cap hit in 2021 to provide some relief.

The main player to monitor for this is Tyrann Mathieu. In 2021, Mathieu will be entering the final year of his contract that he signed with the Chiefs in 2019. He will carry a hefty salary of $19.7 million, which is the highest single-season salary cap hit for a safety in NFL history. If the Chiefs wish to keep Mathieu on another contract, then extending him and moving some of this money to later years in the extension long-term would be a good way to save money in 2021. The amount saved is entirely dependent on how the contract is structured, but the Chiefs could get an ample amount of salary cap room from this.

Other veterans like Travis Kelce and Mitchell Schwartz carry salary cap hits that are probably lower than their real value in 2021, having a cap hit of $9 million and $10 million respectively. New deals for them could lower their 2021 cap hit potentially, but it’d shave only a few million off, unless the contracts have very creative structures.

2021 salary cap savings:

Tyrann Mathieu, realistic savings in new contract: around $10 million

Travis Kelce, realistic savings in new contract: around $2 million

Mitchell Schwartz, realistic savings in new contract: around $3 million

Putting it all together

So, what could a realistic Chiefs cut-down look like?

Let’s assume they go for Mahomes' contract first. I don’t think the Chiefs want to convert all of Mahomes’ roster bonus to a signing bonus, so let’s do $16 million of it. This saves $12.8 million and the Chiefs are now $5.6 million over the 2021 salary cap.

Now suppose Lucas Niang is ready for action and impresses the coaches in practice enough to where they are comfortable with him at left tackle. The Chiefs then can cut Eric Fisher. This saves $11.5 million and the Chiefs are now $5.9 million under the 2021 salary cap.

Alex Okafor has a fine, but not great 2020 season. While he’d be a nice player to keep on a pay cut, he definitely won’t stay for $8 million. Let’s assume he won’t take a pay cut so the Chiefs cut him. This saves $5.95 million and the Chiefs are now $11.85 million under the 2021 salary cap.

Now Chris Jones has another great 2020 season so the Chiefs are comfortable with keeping Jones through the remainder of his contract. They decide to restructure some of his base salary to save more in 2021. This saves $5.3 million and the Chiefs are now $17.15 million under the 2021 salary cap.

From here, the Chiefs have enough cap space to go through a quiet offseason, re-sign some depth players, and sign their rookies in the 2021 draft. If the Chiefs wish to do more they could look at Hitchens or save a few million by extending Kelce or Schwartz.

Brett Veach has proven in the 2020 offseason that he and his salary cap team are very good at manipulating the salary cap and structuring contracts to do so. Mahomes’ contract is especially a feat of great structure that has given the Chiefs many avenues to manufacture salary cap space at will for many years into the future. Veach and co will have to use all these avenues next year to fit under a salary cap that might bottom out, but it certainly isn’t impossible to do so as the team currently stands. Hopefully, Brett Veach is up for an encore performance in 2021.

 

[Adamixoye 604]

13 minutes ago, kkuenn said:

 

Putting it all together

So, what could a realistic Chiefs cut-down look like?

Let’s assume they go for Mahomes' contract first. I don’t think the Chiefs want to convert all of Mahomes’ roster bonus to a signing bonus, so let’s do $16 million of it. This saves $12.8 million and the Chiefs are now $5.6 million over the 2021 salary cap.

Now suppose Lucas Niang is ready for action and impresses the coaches in practice enough to where they are comfortable with him at left tackle. The Chiefs then can cut Eric Fisher. This saves $11.5 million and the Chiefs are now $5.9 million under the 2021 salary cap.

Alex Okafor has a fine, but not great 2020 season. While he’d be a nice player to keep on a pay cut, he definitely won’t stay for $8 million. Let’s assume he won’t take a pay cut so the Chiefs cut him. This saves $5.95 million and the Chiefs are now $11.85 million under the 2021 salary cap.

Now Chris Jones has another great 2020 season so the Chiefs are comfortable with keeping Jones through the remainder of his contract. They decide to restructure some of his base salary to save more in 2021. This saves $5.3 million and the Chiefs are now $17.15 million under the 2021 salary cap.

From here, the Chiefs have enough cap space to go through a quiet offseason, re-sign some depth players, and sign their rookies in the 2021 draft. If the Chiefs wish to do more they could look at Hitchens or save a few million by extending Kelce or Schwartz.

Brett Veach has proven in the 2020 offseason that he and his salary cap team are very good at manipulating the salary cap and structuring contracts to do so. Mahomes’ contract is especially a feat of great structure that has given the Chiefs many avenues to manufacture salary cap space at will for many years into the future. Veach and co will have to use all these avenues next year to fit under a salary cap that might bottom out, but it certainly isn’t impossible to do so as the team currently stands. Hopefully, Brett Veach is up for an encore performance in 2021.

 

This bottom line really doesn't seem all that bad to me.