If what we saw in terms of protecting Patrick Muhammad from the Bucs is the future, it’s hard to see how they’ll get to another Super Bowl soon.
KANSAS CITY – The general manager Brett Veach showed enough creativity last season to help the Heads of Kansas City back to ‘ super Bowl. He took on a challenging salary cap situation that at some point left the Heads with $ 177 in room to maneuver, and so i found a way to re-hire the quarterback Patrick Mahomes, defensive attack Chris Jones and closed wing Travis Kelce.
Veach you will need to show every gram of that creativity, and more, to create an offensive line that protects Mahomes this year. The Chiefs released veteran offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz in a move that saves the Heads more than $ 18 million against the limit, but leaves them short in two key positions.
The Chiefs could have five new starters on the offensive line by 2021, Regarding the opening of the last campaign. Fisher i Schwartz they are out Kelechi Osemele i Austin pilot are free agents without potential restrictions, and Andrew Wylie is a restricted free agent.
the Heads they would get reinforcements if Laurent Duvernay-Tardif i Lucas Niang they return after opting not to play last season for the coronavirus. This, at best, would only partially resolve the issue of the Chiefs tackles. Niang could end up being one of the starting tackles for next season, but Duvernay-Tardif is a guard.
the Heads have been planning the moves with Fisher i Schwartz for some time, and they waited until Wednesday’s news that the salary cap for 2021 would be $ 182,500,000 before acting. The limit fell by more than $ 15 million per team compared to last year, leaving the Heads with few options except for some drastic moves.
injuries a Fisher i Schwartz they have made of their low logical movements. Fisher, 30 years old, underwent surgery in late January after the Achilles tendon ruptured in the AFC Championship Game, A victory over the Buffalo Bills. SchwartzThe 31-year-old lost most of last season to a back injury, and also underwent surgery recently.
the Heads at this point they have no certainty that either of these two players will be healthy for the next season. Even if they are, will they be the same caliber of players again before injuries?
Releasing them was the easy part. the Heads they eliminated a significant part of their problems in the face of the salary cap with these moves, and they did so with players of uncertain future.
Replacing with players of similar caliber is where things get tough. the Heads they still need to shave a couple of million dollars just to be in compliance with the maximum allowed in the league. To this, it is necessary to increase the money needed to offer contracts to restricted free agents such as Wylie, Byron Pringle, Charvarius Ward i Darrel Williams, And sign his eight eventual draft picks, and it’s hard to believe the casualties of Fisher i Schwartz with a signal pointing to a large poster free agent offensive tackle, like Trent Williams.
It is more likely that Veach you have to find a way to build an offensive line without further stretching the inflated wage structure of the Heads. Perhaps, that means spending several of those eight draft picks on linemen. Maybe, it means signing a minor free agent, or two. Perhaps, it means to contract a Fisher at a lower cost, when you prove you are ready to play.
Whatever you do Veach, the Heads they have a lot at stake. They got a look at how their skills were neutralized Mahomes behind an oscillating offensive line to the Super Bowl LV, Where they were beaten by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If this is the future of Heads when it comes to protecting Mahomes, It’s hard to see how they’ll take advantage of their more than $ 500 million investment in the quarterback, or how they’ll get to another super Bowl soon.
Veach you need to get it right here, and it could take a lot of money and imagination to do it.