What’s the next move for the #Chiefs after the draft? Brett Veach says Orlando Brown Jr.’s contract talks will play a part in determining that.
The Kansas City Chiefs have made a lot of new additions to their roster this offseason.
Reserve/future contracts, free agency, the 2022 NFL draft and undrafted free agency have brought a throng of new players to Kansas City. That said, the offseason roster hasn’t yet reached its final form, and GM Brett Veach isn’t ruling out making new additions to the team.
The team already employed a rarely-used contract tender in order to better their chances of Melvin Ingram returning to the team. As for what comes next, Veach says the team has a plan and they’re going to remain diligent.
“We’ll be smart,” Veach told reporters. “We’ve approached this offseason with a plan and we’ve tried to remain smart in regard to thinking about the next few years. We would love to have Melvin (Ingram) back and I think we’re in position to do something along those lines.”
One hurdle for the Chiefs when it comes to going out and making a splash free-agent addition or trade is the money they currently have locked up in Orlando Brown Jr.’s franchise tag. Brown is set to make a fully-guaranteed $16.6 million in 2022 under the tag. Both sides remain interested in coming to an agreement on a long-term deal, but the structure of that deal could help inform the team’s next move.
“We’re also, hopefully, we’ll pick up the Orlando Brown talk and depending on how that goes and how that’s structured, it may allow for us to do something else or something that we’re not thinking of at this point,” Veach said. “I think we are in a position to do something small and if it makes sense, we would do it. I think in the next few weeks here the Orlando Brown contract stuff will pick up and how that turns out may guide us in another direction in regards to what we can add before the season.”
The Chiefs have until mid-July to come to an agreement on a contract extension with Brown. To this point, the major hold-up has been the lack of him having an agent. As of Veach’s pre-draft musings, Brown still hadn’t made a decision on an agent. With players reporting to team facilities for Phase 2 of the offseason workout program, talks surrounding an extension are likely to resume, agent or no agent.
Whatever happens with Brown, Veach wants to maintain a certain level of flexibility throughout the offseason.
“It’s still a long offseason and like I said, when you have these drafts and all these players added, you’re going to have some counter moves and teams will start cutting players,” Veach explained. “They may have added a player or two at a position they weren’t thinking of, now suddenly they have a veteran there they can move on from or maybe they’ll listen to you. I think once you get through these rookie minicamps and these OTAs, talk will start to pick up again and some teams may call about certain players. I think the good thing for us is we have some flexibility here. We aren’t like ‘oh we can’t do anything, we’re stuck.’”
The last thing that Veach wants to do is overcommit and not have the flexibility to make a move when it needs to be made. For now, he’ll be patient and let the offseason play out. That means continuing to assess the needs of the roster for the upcoming season, the needs for the future, and what opportunities might be out there for the team to acquire more talent.
“We have picks next year, we have some money now and depending on how Orlando plays out we may have some additional resources depending on how all that is laid out,” Veach continued. “We always strive to have some flexibility and do what’s best for the team and we’re not going to make a move just to make a move. We’ve shown enough discipline over the years, I know we’re aggressive, but we’ve shown that we can be disciplined and let things play out. More than anything, as long as you have flexibility going into the season, I think you’re in a really good position. We’ll certainly take calls and listen and see what is out there.”
[listicle id=129350]
