Arrowheadlines: SI calls Patrick Mahomes one of free agency’s biggest losers

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Winners and Losers Through the First Week of NFL Free Agency | Sports Illustrated

LOSERS

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

This is a bit tongue in cheek, of course, but just watching the Kansas City Chiefs go from Orlando Brown Jr. to Jawaan Taylor and JuJu Smith-Schuster to the rest of a formidable and budding set of receivers, it’s clear the franchise has an unshakable confidence in Mahomes’s ability to overcome most personnel situations. Again, Travis Kelce, Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, et al. aren’t shabby. And Andy Reid himself told me during Super Bowl week that he felt energized by the process of piecing together new faces around Mahomes. More moves could be on the horizon. But for now, Mahomes is so good that he’s allowing the team to spend some of its capital elsewhere (the parts they are allowed to spend, anyway).

The Chiefs are letting several starters leave in free agency. Here’s their reasoning | Yahoo! Sports

If the Chiefs want to Run it Back, that should come at the cooperation of the players, not a team stretching the team’s payment. To state the obvious, this is applicable to some players, though not necessarily to all. It’s dependent on the cost and value of potential replacement.

The Chiefs are essentially deciding whether a handful of key contributors on offense are aided by Patrick Mahomes more than the inverse. They can back-date just one year for their evidence. (Hint: It’s usually the former.)

The timing of this is fascinating, given what their counterparts are doing. On Wednesday, not-for-long Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent half an hour on the Pat McAfee Show declaring his “intention” to play for the New York Jets next season — none of this is his fault, he really wants you to know. He denied sending the Jets a “demand list” for players to sign, though the report actually called it a “wish list,” and he wasn’t exactly convincing that he didn’t have some suggestions.

Chiefs RG Trey Smith leads team in performance-based pay for 2022 | Chiefs Wire

The NFL announced performance-based pay distributions for the 2022 NFL season and second-year RG Trey Smith led the way for the team.

The league announced on Friday that NFL players are set to receive a whopping $336 million in performance-based for 2022. This is a benefit that is collectively bargained between the NFL and NFLPA to compensate players based on their playing time and salary.

Smith, a sixth-round draft pick out of Tennessee in 2021, played the fifth-highest percentage of offensive snaps in Kansas City in 2022. His 1,037 snaps earned him a 90.25% share of the team’s offensive snaps last season. As a result, he comes in at No. 20 in the NFL in terms of performance-based pay with over $663K earned.

If you’re curious about how exactly performance-based pay is determined, here’s an explainer and chart from the NFL:

Each player on the same team com­petes for his own share of his club’s Performance-Based Pay pool. The hypothetical example in the table below illustrates how the Player Index works, using a simplified four-player team and a club bonus pool of $1,000,000. Each player receives his share of the pool depending on how his Index compares to those of his teammates.

Kansas City Chiefs hire Andy Reid’s son in 2023 coaching staff changes | Fox 4

If you looked at the last name and wondered about the relation, you are absolutely correct. Spencer is the youngest of Andy Reid’s five children.

Reid recently spent a year as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for BYU football. He also made stops at Colorado State and Boston College in the same position under head coach Steve Addazio.

Spencer also worked with the Chiefs in 2018 as an intern in the strength and conditioning program.

Insider Says Chiefs’ New $40 Million Pairing ‘an Effing Problem’ | Heavy

One of the more notable signings by the Kansas City Chiefs thus far during free agency has been defensive end Charles Omenihu, who joined the Chiefs by way of a two-year deal worth a maximum of $20 million, according to Jordan Schultz of the Score on March 14.

The signing was notable enough that former NFL player, scout, and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick took to Twitter to sound off on the transaction.

“@charless_94 [Charles Omenihu] and @StoneColdJones [Chris Jones] together going to be an effing problem with their inside/outside pass rush skills in KC,” Riddick wrote on March 15.

Ultimately, what Louis Riddick is referring to is how Omenihu’s versatility will pair greatly with Chris Jones’ in Kansas City.

During his career, Omenihu has played 848 snaps along the edge, 464 over the offensive tackle, 414 over the B-gap, and 173 over the A-gap, according to PFF. That means he has experience playing at every position along the defensive line.

Five Things to Know About New Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu | The Mothership

1. He put together a career season for the San Francisco 49ers last year.

Omenihu racked up 54 pressures, 16 quarterback hits and 4.5 sacks in 17 games for the 49ers last season, recording (or matching, in the case of quarterback hits) career-bests in each category. He recorded at least three pressures in nine games.

His 54 pressures ranked second on the 49ers and would have ranked second on the Chiefs behind only defensive lineman Chris Jones (77). He ranked 27th league-wide in that category overall.

Around the NFL

New Jets WR Allen Lazard on Aaron Rodgers impacting his career: ‘He’s a big reason why I’m here’ | NFL.com

Newly signed Jets receiver Allen Lazard is expected to rejoin Aaron Rodgers in New York, assuming the trade for the four-time MVP is consummated.

In his introductory news conference Friday after inking a four-year, $44 million pact, Lazard credited Rodgers with elevating his career after going undrafted in 2018.

“He’s a big reason why I’m here today,” Lazard said. “I can’t deny that. He stood on a table for me in training camp when I didn’t deserve to make the roster, he called for me to be in the games, and he’s always believed in me.”

Dre’Mont Jones Airs Dirty Broncos Laundry on Seattle Radio | Mile High Huddle

Joining the Brock and Salk show on Seattle 710 Sports Radio, Jones was asked what it was like playing in Denver last season, and in his typical blunt candor, he didn’t seem to pull any punches.

“To keep it short, it was a lot more hectic than any of us probably wanted it to be,” Jones told 710 Sports Radio. “I should really just speak for myself, it was probably more hectic than what I’d like it to be. Just too much going on. There was a lot of drama. Unnecessary. Football didn’t seem as important as it needed to be at one point, and that sucks because that’s coming from a place that I really grew to appreciate.”

Eagles sign Marcus Mariota | CBS. com

Philadelphia lost Minshew to the Indianapolis Colts earlier Thursday, but the Eagles only needed a few hours to upgrade at backup quarterback. The Eagles reached a one-year deal with Mariota that can reach up to $8 million, giving them a quality backup behind Jalen Hurts.

Mariota possesses the skill set that is tailor-made for Brian Johnson’s offense, as his mobility can keep defenses guessing. The Eagles paid good money for a quality upgrade at QB2.

Grade: A-

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs sign former Chargers linebacker to one-year deal

Tranquill played in all 17 games for the Chargers last season. He led the team with 146 tackles — with five sacks and ten tackles for loss. He also recorded an interception.

He added a playoff interception off of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence in Los Angeles’ Divisional Round loss.

In total, he was in on 93% of the Chargers’ defensive snaps with 114 special teams snaps added.

While few had linebacker on the list of Kansas City’s needs, the 27-year-old continues general manager Brett Veach’s free agency pattern of acquiring young talent with ascending trajectories.

Tranquill will join a linebacking crew that includes Nick Bolton, Willie Gay Jr., and Leo Chenal. He adds a pass coverage pedigree to Kansas City’s linebacker rotation, possibly making him a candidate for a dime linebacker role defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo generally has preferred to designate.

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