The One Free Agent the Chiefs Cannot Afford to Lose

The Kansas City Chiefs have been the National Football League's model of consistency and success over the past five seasons. They have appeared in five of the past six Super Bowls and have been relatively unphased by the roster changes they have experienced.

While Kansas City has sustained roster changes, as all teams do every offseason, they have done a solid job of maintaining the same results. However, after a subpar performance in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs cannot afford to sit back and allow other teams to catch up to them.

The Chiefs will likely undergo a decent amount of changes on both sides of the ball this offseason as they look to add to their roster. In addition to adding players, the Chiefs must also prepare to lose players to free agency. It is the nature of the NFL beast.

Sterling Xie of the Pro Football Network noted one pending free agent every team in the National Football League cannot afford to lose. After using their franchise tag on offensive lineman Trey Smith, the Chiefs' biggest free agent priority is veteran safety Justin Reid.

"Most of the Kansas City Chiefs’ highest-profile free agents are on offense, as nearly all of the team’s wide receivers not named Xavier Worthy or Rashee Rice are unsigned. In addition, linebacker Nick Bolton is a free agent at a fairly thin position," Xie said.

"However, the Chiefs’ biggest priority could be keeping safety Justin Reid. In three seasons since joining the Chiefs, Reid has played at least 90% of the snaps every year. And in seven total NFL seasons, he’s never played fewer than 13 games.

Xie noted that Reid's skillset is a valuable asset that will be difficult for the Chiefs to replace should he leave in free agency. Kansas City must do what they can to retain him.

"Reid’s versatility is indispensable for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, which relies on interchangeable safeties that can line up anywhere. In 2024, Reid played 56% of his snaps as a deep safety, 26% in the box, and 18% in the slot or at outside cornerback," Xie said.

"Rookie Jaden Hicks was solid in playing roughly a third of the snaps in 2024, but keeping Reid and allowing Spagnuolo to roll out more versatile three-safety dime packages could help offset."

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