A lot at stake, Part 2: What Chiefs players have the most to gain in 2022?

There are a lot of players with a lot at stake in 2022. What players stand to gain the most from a great season?

There’s a lot at stake in 2022, and not just for the Kansas City Chiefs as a whole. But for multiple individuals on it.

In case you missed part one of this “series” (can a 2-part pair of articles really be called a series? Probably not, but it sounds much better than “a couple of articles” so we’re sticking with it), we’re here to celebrate a season of hope.

I love this time of year. Every fanbase is excited. Every plan is going to work out well. All the bad players will bounce back, all the good players will remain good. Young guys will develop, old guys will maintain. Coaches will get the most out of their players and find new ways to innovate. Like I said previously, this is the time of year for dreaming, and I’m totally here for it.

It’s also the time of year when players are about to take the first step towards trying to accomplish the goals they’ve laid out for themselves before the year began. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Chiefs who enter 2022 with a great deal on the line. And whether they have a lot to GAIN in 2022 or a lot to LOSE.

Seth Keysor @RealMNchiefsfan

It's the time of year to write previews for training camp and everything is right in the world. Chiefs fans, what player do you believe has the most to lose/gain this year? I'm going to pick some and write about them and I'm curious what people thing.

We already talked about players with a lot to lose, who aren’t necessarily guaranteed their next contract or their starting spot if things don’t go well for them. There are guys who are at risk of getting bounced from the league entirely, or from being forced to scrap and claw their way onto a roster yet again next year if they don’t show out in the season to come.

On the other side of that are the guys I want to talk about today. Guys who, no matter what happens in 2022, have done enough to have a roster spot (somewhere, even if not KC) next season and probably a contract beyond the veteran minimum. Or perhaps they are guys who have already made life-changing money, or have a big name that they know they can at least partly rely on to get another shot elsewhere. Guys who also, if they do well this season, could land themselves a massive contract (again, whether in KC or elsewhere).

These are the 5 Chiefs with the most to gain in 2022. They’re in no particular order, but we’ll start with one I think is pretty obvious.