Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach doesn’t exactly have any big-named players set to become free agents this March, but he does have some big decisions to make for the future.
One player due for an extension is DB Tyrann Mathieu, whose 2019 arrival helped transform the Chiefs’ defense into what it is today. Veach likened the priority of extending Mathieu to that of star players extended in the 2020 offseason like Chris Jones and Patrick Mahomes.
“As you mentioned with Chris (Jones) and Patrick (Mahomes) last year, you’d put Tyrann (Mathieu) in that category,” Veach told reporters on Monday. “We’ll have some work to do to get with him and his agents.”
It’s worth noting that an extension of Mathieu could help the team clear cap space in 2021. It’s also worth noting that he’s coming off of one of the best seasons of his career, so the $14 million per year average that the Chiefs signed him to back in 2019, might not be on the table. He was voted First-Team All-Pro and earned a Pro Bowl nod, something he has only done once before in his career, back in 2015 with the Arizona Cardinals.
Mathieu’s impact has gone well beyond on-field production and accolades for Kansas City, though.
“Enough can’t be said about Tyrann and his importance to the team, both on the field and in the locker room,” Veach continued. “He’s proven to be, not just a great player, but a great leader. And (he’s) a great person to have developing the young guys and getting out in the community.”
The Chiefs do have the luxury of time when it comes to Mathieu. He’s not a free agent until 2022— a season when the team is projected to have much more cap space to work with than they will in 2021. The team potentially can use the franchise tag on him in 2022, assuming they don’t agree to an extension this offseason.
It’d behoove Mathieu and perhaps the team to get something done earlier if they can, but many options remain on the table. The end goal will always be the same, though, which is to keep Mathieu in Kansas City for the foreseeable future.
“So we’ll certainly go to work with (Tyrann Mathieu) and his agency and see what we can get done,” Veach said, in closing. “But needless to say, we hope that he’s here with this organization for a long time, for years to come.”
