Justin Reid Discusses Contract Status Entering Final Year with Chiefs – Will KC Offer Reid a New Deal?

As Justin Reid enters the final year of his three-year contract with the Chiefs, the star safety addressed his mindset in a contract year. Can KC's past decisions provide a hint for the future?

Jan 21, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) celebrates during the second half of an AFC divisional round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Just days before kicking off the start of the 2024 NFL season by hosting the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid spoke to the media on Sunday and discussed a wide array of topics, ranging from his current health to his contract future.

Entering the final year of the three-year contract he signed before the 2022 season, Reid was asked about how he's viewing his contract year, his uncertain future, and if he would like to remain in Kansas City beyond the 2024 season.

"I love Kansas City, I love this team, I love this culture," Reid said. "I said it in our team luncheon a couple days ago that this is a first-class organization, top-to-bottom. But the contract details work themselves out. I'm not one to get too involved in any of that, I'd rather focus on the task at hand and beating Baltimore. And when you play well, things tend to take care of themselves."

Will the Kansas City Chiefs extend or re-sign Justin Reid for 2025?

Reid's public attitude is certainly the right one — and perhaps the only sane way to handle the final year of a contract in the NFL when your team is pushing for a three-peat. Still, he has to privately acknowledge the writing on the wall and KC's recent history with veteran safeties.

Tyrann Mathieu joined the Chiefs on a three-year deal ahead of the 2019 season when Kansas City made him the NFL's highest-paid safety. After his deal ended, the Chiefs let Mathieu walk in favor of signing Reid to his own three-year contract. Following his exit from KC, Mathieu discussed the struggle of his unceremonious departure with Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star, a must-read story if you missed it in 2022. Mathieu said that his final year in Kansas City was the hardest year of his career. Why?

"I just knew," Mathieu told McDowell. "Everything I was working for, man. Every day I wake up trying to make the Chiefs better, trying to make the community better. I’m just working toward that knowing that there’s an end date. There’s an expiration date to that."

It would be unfair to project Mathieu's mindset directly on to Reid's — they play the same position and signed similar three-year deals, but they're different people. Reid may even see this year, his age-27 season, as a chance to make history as a team while also building his case for one more major contract elsewhere next offseason.

Reid also has a bit more youth on his side, as Mathieu's final year in KC was his age-29 campaign. It's not a foregone conclusion that Reid won't return after this season, but the rest of the team's safety depth chart certainly indicates that the Chiefs won't panic if Reid's contract price rises.

In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Chiefs drafted safety Bryan Cook in the second round. In 2023, they selected Chamarri Conner in the fourth. In April, they landed Jaden Hicks in the fourth. The Chiefs could roll into 2025 with an admirable safety trio entirely built on rookie contracts. While the 2025 and future salary caps bend to take on the weight of massive cap hits for Patrick Mahomes, Jawaan Taylor, Chris Jones and Creed Humphrey, will KC choose to pay Reid to return to a group that could have three starting-caliber safeties whose 2025 cap hits add up to roughly $4 million combined?

To be clear, none of the doubts about the future have anything to do with Reid's level of play or reliability. He's been a boon for Steve Spagnuolo's defense, especially stepping into Mathieu's former role as the veteran leader at the back of the unit. But with recent history indicating that the Chiefs have long been planning to build cheap, youthful depth at the position, a Mathieu-esque three-and-out appears most likely for Reid ahead of the 2024 season.

Read More: Justin Reid: 'No Limit' for Week 1 vs. Ravens in Return from Quad Injury