Arrowhead Report

No Rest for the Weary as KC Chiefs’ Offseason Ramps Up

News was abundant from the Chiefs this past week. Let's take a look at some of the headlines and how things could work for or against them.

Mark Van Sickle

No Rest for the Weary as KC Chiefs’ Offseason Ramps Up
No Rest for the Weary as KC Chiefs’ Offseason Ramps Up /
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The Kansas City Chiefs dished out plenty of news for consumption this week, but sometimes these moves get lost in the shuffle. Let’s take a look at a few of the headlines and what it could mean for the future of the Chiefs.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling released

The Chiefs decided it was time to release Marquez Valdes-Scantling. This was the correct move. While he made some key plays in critical moments in the last two playoff runs for the Chiefs, the inconsistencies in the regular season were not going to be worth the $14 million salary cap hit.

This opens up at least one starting wide receiver spot for the Chiefs. It’s been widely speculated that they could go after one of the top free agent wide receivers while also keeping the option open to draft a rookie at the same position at the NFL Draft next month. This was the first of many offseason moves, but the wideout position was always going to be a hot topic for the Chiefs. That will continue to ramp up over the next couple of weeks as free agency gets closer.

L’Jarius Sneed's franchise tag status

This seemed like another obvious move for the Chiefs to make. L'Jarius Sneed has become one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, and making sure he doesn’t hit free agency is a top priority. Kansas City has a few options with Sneed, and one of them is the tag. Despite a report earlier this week, however, it hasn't officially happened yet. 

If Sneed does get tagged, the Chiefs can let him play on a one-year deal worth $19.8 million. This seems like the least likely option. The team would rather agree to a long-term contract and keep that cap number down for 2024. Another option could be to trade Sneed to a willing partner for compensation before the 2024 NFL Draft.

General manager Brett Veach and company will need to get to work. That's especially the case if they want to try and sign Chris Jones before legal tampering starts on March 11 in addition to figuring out numbers that could work with Sneed as well.

What's the latest on Dave Merritt and the San Francisco 49ers?

Defensive backs coach Dave Merritt has been one of the best position coaches in the league over the last several seasons. The Chiefs continue drafting well with their secondary selections, but Merritt has been molding and turning these young men into grown men right in front of our eyes. Merritt interviewed with the San Francisco 49ers for their defensive coordinator job, leaving Kansas City in an interesting position. Luckily, he's staying in town as Adam Schefter of ESPN reported a couple of 49ers hires on Saturday morning. Chiefs Kingdom can rejoice.

Chiefs release stadium upgrade plans

The Kansas City Chiefs, along with the Kansas City Royals, are pushing for a "yes" vote on April 2nd in Jackson County for the continuation of a ⅜ cent tax. While taxes wouldn’t go up for residents in Jackson County, they would keep paying that tax for another 40 years if the initiative passes.

The Royals released their plans to move from the Truman Sports Complex to downtown Kansas City in the Crossroads District, just across the street from where the T-Mobile Center sits. In turn, the Chiefs could lay their plans out to have their current location all to themselves.

There were a lot of bells and whistles in the rendering plans. They include upgrades to each level of the stadium, new video and ribbon boards, parking lot upgrades, pedestrian bridge upgrades and an activation zone where the Royals' current stadium sits. The upgrades would certainly be nice when completed, but many fans were still underwhelmed.

Two big ideas — a covering to potentially bring a Super Bowl to Kansas City or additional hotels, restaurants and entertainment — did not come to fruition in the initial “Arrowhead Reimagined” project. There will still be plenty of room for tailgating, though, so most fans will be happy on game day regardless.

2024 NFL Scouting Combine taking place

The Chiefs have been doing their due diligence at the Combine, including conducting interviews with several prospects. It’s never too soon to overact and predict who the Chiefs will be taking in the 2024 NFL Draft, so get ready for mock draft season to ramp up soon.

With the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl, there wasn’t much downtime before the offseason fully ramped up. Now we’re in the thick of it, and there won’t be any shortage of news for the next two months. Arrowhead Report will have you covered every step of the way.

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Mark Van Sickle
MARK VAN SICKLE

Mark Van Sickle was born in Seattle, Washington, but has lived in the Kansas City area for 30 years. He has followed the city’s sports teams along the way from the KC Blades to the Royals to the Wizards/Sporting KC, now the KC Current and of course, the Chiefs. Mark has been a radio producer and on-air talent in Kansas City since 2011 and is currently a producer for morning shows on KCMO Talk Radio. He is a writer and podcast host for the Heartland College Sports Network. He is a writer and weekly contributor to FanNation’s Inside the Royals. He is a consistent guest on Roughing the Kicker Chiefs podcast and, of course, a writer and weekly contributor to FanNation's Arrowhead Report.

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