If I were Brett Veach, Part 1: Salary cap fun and a look at problems that need solving this offseason
If I were Brett Veach, Part 1: Salary cap fun and a look at problems that need solving this offseason
Part 1 of our yearly offseason series involves showing where there's quick room to be found and looking at the state of the roster from 10,000 feet in the air.
Well, here we are… the offseason (after the Pro Bowl “game”) for the Kansas Chiefs has officially begun.
The bad news is that it’s a week earlier than any of us were hoping. The good news is that we get to turn the page on a tough (and unnecessary, just to pick at the wound one more time) loss to the Bengals in the AFC Championship and start to look ahead. On the bright side, remember when this was the ONLY fun part of the season as a Chiefs fan? Because I do.
Times have changed for Chiefs fans. They enter every offseason knowing (not hoping, not wishing, but KNOWING) that they are a Super Bowl contender the next year. The goal isn’t to figure out how they can somehow scratch their way to the playoffs. The goal is to decipher what the shortcomings are that narrow their margin of error and make it tougher for them to win it all. It’s an entirely different world, where something that might not have been an issue in previous years is now much more crucial (a few small holes in the dam are a much bigger deal when you’re not worried about a 20-foot gap, if that makes sense).
With that in mind, it’s time to start an annual tradition for me in which I place myself in the shoes of the Chiefs’ general manager and make a plan for the offseason. It’s something I do every year, and I have a great deal of fun with it. And so, in a moment, we’ll start “If I were Brett Veach, Part 1.”
But first, I also want to give subscribers a roadmap of the plan for this site during the offseason. I love the offseason, as it gives me time to dive deeper into the film for certain players and go through larger sample sizes. The players I prioritize out of the gate are ones who are scheduled to hit free agency, involve contract issues, AND are more “unknown.” So this year, the priorities out of the gate will be tackle Orlando Brown and cornerback Charvarius Ward (Tyrann Mathieu is more of a known quantity).
I also, early in the offseason, try to focus on issues related to roster building (hence the “If I Were Brett Veach” series), looking at roster retention, free agency, and the draft. I’ll go in-depth on free agency acquisitions (like this piece last year on Joe Thuney) as well as draft picks (like my drooling over Creed Humphrey when he was taken in the 2nd round last year).
After this relative flurry of activity, we get to the “dead zone” where I have some freedom to go in-depth on other players (like Bolton, Gay, Sneed, Trey Smith, and a few others I’m very interested in) who don’t have the “deadline” of potential free agency. I also have time to write about topics that are near and dear to me, like the little things that made Tamba Hali great, or an argument as to why Jamaal Charles belongs in the Hall of Fame. We’ll try to fit in a mailbag/giveaway or two as well, and as ever, any requests can be made in the comments!
With that in mind, it’s time for what I would do if I were Brett Veach, Part 1. That involves a look at the overall roster and some fun with the salary cap. Next time, we’ll talk about player retention/extensions.
But we need to start with the cap. Because as far as we’ve come in recent years, I know that the idea the Chiefs are in “cap hell” (or whatever version of that expression you prefer) or don’t have money to be players is going to make the rounds yet again this offseason.
And yet again, it isn’t true.