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The Kansas City Chiefs have seemingly moved on from S Tyrann Mathieu, but they also didn’t put any effort into retaining him.
The Chiefs are set to sign former Houston Texans S Justin Reid, but it’s not because Mathieu declined an offer from a team. It also wasn’t because they were priced out of his market or anything like that. He never actually got an offer from the team in the first place.
As first reported by NFL reporter Kimberley A. Martin and confirmed by The Athletic’s Nate Taylor, the Chiefs didn’t even attempt to offer Tyrann Mathieu a new contract. Nothing at the combine, nothing ahead of the legal tampering period — they may have exchanged numbers and talked shop, but there was never a formal offer.
As @ByKimberleyA has reported, I can confirm the Chiefs never offered Tyrann Mathieu a new contract. When last season ended, Mathieu knew the Chiefs could make such a decision.
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) March 15, 2022
They say the business side of the NFL is harsh and this is truly a representation of that. A month ago, Chiefs HC Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach were singing an entirely different tune about Mathieu. They both said they loved him, but it’s clear they didn’t love him more than the prospect of adding a player who is five years younger.
It doesn’t matter that Mathieu was twice named team MVP or helped drag the Chiefs’ defensive culture from the dregs that Bob Sutton left it in. It certainly doesn’t matter that he was a key piece in bringing a Super Bowl title to a team that hadn’t sniffed one in fifty years.
Maybe signing Reid is the right move for the future of Kansas City, but I can’t help but feel like Mathieu deserved a bit better out of this franchise whether he was on his way out or not.
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