Heading into next week’s impending free agency, the Kansas City Chiefs are now facing the intimidating salary cap from the unenviable perspective of being almost $16 million above the threshold.
After applying the franchise tag to Trey Smith, a Pro Bowl guard, last week, the Chiefs are without the funds to re-sign current players and pursue free agents starting on Monday.
Additionally, it appears that one starting player won’t be with the Chiefs for the beginning of the upcoming season because they need to rearrange their books in order to even go under the cap, let alone bring back players.
Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports on the KC Sports Network‘s “Only Weird Games” podcast that the team will most likely not re-sign safety and defensive “linchpin” Justin Reid this offseason.
Speaking with Seth Keysor and Joshua Brisco, Taylor reveals that Reid will most likely hit the open market come Wednesday, and could sign a deal as early as the start of the legal tampering period on Monday.
“Go ahead and salute [say goodbye to] Justin Reid, I don’t think that’s going to change”, Taylor says to Keysor and Brisco, upon running down a list of the potential re-up ability of the major free agent departures.
Justin Reid is by no means the be-all or end-all for a Kansas City defense that has been lights out in the postseason for the best part of half a decade under legendary defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo.
Having taken over from free safety, ball-hawk and patroller of the deep ball, Tyrann Mathieu, Reid has been an invaluable asset in keeping continuity with the Chiefs’ play style and limiting big plays by opposition QBs – even if he only has 3 career interceptions in KC.
But the team has already prioritized quarterback, Patrick Mahomes‘ protection this offseason in tagging Smith, and could be set to put linebacker Nick Bolton ahead of Reid in the team’s re-signing “wish-list” pecking order.
Whilst the Chiefs already have Leo Chenal and Drue Tranquil, the latter of whom signed a three year, $19 million deal with the team last offseason, as off-the-ball linebackers, Bolton has demonstrated All-Pro caliber play during his best season in 2022 – including a very key moment of Super Bowl LVII – despite not getting recognition from traditional awards.
Reid has had plenty of great moments, but most would not regard the former Houston Texan as a player with top five production or potential at his position – NFL.com list him as just their #3 safety this free agency class.
So although it was likely tempting for general manager, Brett Veach and head coach, Andy Reid, to keep the Stanford grad around, who still only just turned 28 years old last month despite hitting free agency for the second time in his career, it figures that the Reid (Justin) will have to pack his things once again for his next adventure in 2025 and beyond.
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