The Kansas City Chiefs are in the preliminary stages of negotiating contracts with several pending free agents.
In just 15 short days the NFL’s free agency period will begin, which means that Chiefs GM Brett Veach and his team have a lot of work to accomplish. One pending free agent that has been on everyone’s mind is the team’s defensive leader and 2021 Derrick Thomas MVP winner, Tyrann Mathieu. A staple on the Chiefs’ defense since signing as a free agent in 2019, Mathieu’s three-year contract is up on March 16.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Veach explained that he had spoken with Mathieu’s representation following the AFC championship game loss. Both sides still had a mutual interest in getting a deal done, but now is when the real work on a contract extension begins for both Veach and Mathieu’s camp.
“After the Cincinnati game, we had a chance to talk,” Veach said. “We communicated that we certainly love Tyrann and Tyrann loves being here. This is actually the start of that process now. So once the season ends, the coaches do their deal and we sit back and collect all the information, get with the coaches after they go through their scheme evaluations. We know once Indy rolls around — on one end see all the great college prospects — but on the other hand, have an opportunity to talk with our player’s agents and exchange information. So we’ll start that process this week and hopefully, everything ends in a positive direction.”
Veach confirmed that the Chiefs will meet with Mathieu’s representation to talk contract at the combine, but this isn’t anything special. The team often arranges meetings with player agents when they’re in town for the combine to begin exchanging numbers and information.
“Yeah, typically, all the players on our roster if their agents are here, we make it a point to grab a dinner or just catch them in between workouts or what have you,” Veach said. “But again, that goes with all the players on our roster from one down to 53. It’s always good to keep those communications open and the dialogue open. So, we’ll certainly do that with Tyrann (Mathieu) and his people.”
If things don’t go in a positive direction, it won’t be for a lack of love that the team has for the player. Instead, it’ll be about balancing a number of high-priced contracts and making those work in the short and long-term.
“We love Tyrann (Mathieu),” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said. “It’s a matter of how all of that fits in and again — Brett (Veach) has to juggle all of that and see how it goes as we go in the future here so. We all love him, so I think that that’s important.”
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