The Kansas City Chiefs had their worst performance of the five Super Bowls they have been to with Patrick Mahomes, falling 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Although Kansas City ended the game with 22 points, they were held scoreless for two and a half quarters, with their only scores coming in garbage time.
As a result of this horrendous loss, the Chiefs organization will have a lot of reflecting to do in the next month. One key aspect of the organization’s reflection will be deciding what players to keep or let walk in free agency next month. Currently, Kansas City has 20 unrestricted free agents set to hit the market and limited cap space to re-sign players.
With that in mind, here are four Chiefs who must be re-signed this offseason.
1. Tershawn Wharton, DT
Tershawn Wharton broke out as an impact player at defensive tackle in 2024. The 26-year-old recorded 29 tackles, 6.5 sacks, seven TFLs, two pass deflections, and one forced fumble in the regular season.
Furthermore, Wharton finished 2024 with a 68.3 pass rushing grade, according to PFF, which is the best in his career.
Wharton continued to be a factor in the playoffs, recording eight tackles, two sacks, one QB hit and six QB hurries. Wharton’s Super Bowl performance ended up being his best in the playoffs. According to PFF, Wharton finished the Super Bowl with an 83.6 run defense grade, a 44.0 tackling grade, a 77.6 pass-rushing grade, and a 90.1 overall grade. Wharton’s 90.1 overall grade was the best by any Chief in the Super Bowl.
Although it may not be a consistent impact, Wharton’s ability to create splash plays opposite of Chris Jones is important. As long as Wharton isn’t looking for a massive pay increase, Kansas City should re-sign him.
2. Justin Reid, S
Justin Reid has been a solid safety for Kansas City since joining the team in 2021. In three regular seasons with the Chiefs, Reid has recorded 265 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 11 QB hits, four sacks, one forced fumble, and three interceptions.
Furthermore, Reid has finished with an overall grade and a pass coverage grade of 73.0 or better in two seasons (2022,2024), according to PFF.
Reid also finished the 2023 and 2024 seasons with a tackling grade of 75.0 or better. Having a dependable player patrolling the back end of the defense is important. That said, Reid struggled in both the 2022 and 2023 playoffs, finishing with overall grades of 54.9 in 2022 and 59.1 in 2023.
Thankfully, Reid had a stellar 2024 postseason, recording a run defense grade of 85.9, a tackling grade of 76.8, a pass coverage grade of 60.7, and an overall grade of 71.1. Showing up like that in the playoffs definitely shows why Reid deserves to be back in Kansas City.
Nevertheless, Reid will now be looking for his third contract, which may get pricey. Still, the Chiefs must make as competitive of an offer as they can to keep Reid around.
3. DeAndre Hopkins, WR
Asserting that the Chiefs must re-sign DeAndre Hopkins might be a little too strong. It’s not like the 32-year-old receiver had some kind of career resurgence in his 13 games (10 regular season and 3 postseason games) with Kansas City. However, he did provide a reliable target for Mahomes in the regular season.
In 2024, Hopkins caught 69% (41/59) of his passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns. Although Hopkins lacks the speed he once had, his route running and ability to find holes in zones are unmatched.
That said, Hopkins’ playoff run wasn’t anything to write home about. In three playoff games, Hopkins caught 37% (3/8) of his passes for 29 yards and one touchdown. Hopkins’s biggest blemish was a wide-open drop in the Super Bowl.
A veteran like Hopkins should never drop a wide-open pass like that. Despite that bad drop, Hopkins remains the best option among the Chiefs’ expiring wide receivers to re-sign. This becomes increasingly true if tight end Travis Kelce decides to retire.
It will be interesting to see if general manager Brett Veach sees it the same way.
4. Nick Bolton, LB
Nick Bolton has developed into a top-15 linebacker over the first four seasons of his career. The former second-round pick flies and has a knack for making big plays.
In 2024, Bolton recorded 106 tackles, 11 TFLs, three sacks, seven QB hits, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and one interception.
Although Bolton’s tackle numbers were down, he still had the second-best year of his career.
Having a force with the play-making ability and speed of Bolton in the middle of the field is a huge asset for Kansas City.
That said, Bolton’s rookie contract is now up, which means he will enter free agency on March 12.
Bolton is expected to have a decently sized market if Kansas City is unable to get a deal done before then.
Even so, the Chiefs must do everything they can to retain him.
Kansas City is already expected to lose All-Pro right guard Trey Smith to a record-setting deal in free agency.
Losing out on Bolton as well would mean the Chiefs lose two top-end players, which may be par for the course with the level of talent they possess.
Still, the Chiefs need to do everything they can to keep good players on their team. It’s not unreasonable to assume Bolton will be back in Kansas City next year if they have the means to retain him.
