Chiefs' Early Report Card for Most Impactful Offseason Decisions
The Kansas City Chiefs achieved their primary offseason goal to keep Chris Jones.
Jones entered the offseason as the most coveted defensive free agent, but other teams did not get a chance to land the defensive lineman.
Kansas City made the right move to keep one of the most dominant pass-rushers in the NFL on its side as it looks to go after a third straight Super Bowl.
Any other Kansas City move this offseason will be considered minor in comparison to re-signing Jones.
They did sign Marquise "Hollywood" Brown to reinforce the wide receiver depth chart.
Brown immediately improved the talent on the Kansas City roster, but in order for that move to be a home run, he has to perform inside the Chiefs' offensive system.
Re-Signing Chris Jones
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The Chiefs inked Jones to a five-year, $95 million deal.
The defensive lineman's importance to the Chiefs might be third behind Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
An argument could even be made that Jones was the second-most impactful player on the Chiefs roster at times of their Super Bowl runs.
Jones recorded 26 sacks and 58 quarterback hits in the last two seasons. He has made five straight Pro Bowl rosters.
Keeping Jones was a huge signal of intent from the Chiefs' ownership that the franchise will not be slowing down its pursuit of as many Super Bowl titles as possible in the Mahomes era.
Jones is one of the best defensive players in the NFL. He moved up on that list with Aaron Donald's retirement last week.
The Chiefs simply could not afford to lose Jones in his current dominant form.
Grade: A+
Marquise Brown Signs as Free Agent
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The Chiefs' one-year, $11 million deal with Brown is fascinating.
Brown's production dropped off over the last two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
He only had 574 receiving yards last season, but he is still young and two years removed from a 1,000-yard campaign with the Baltimore Ravens.
Some of Brown's lack of success in 2023 has to be attributed to Arizona's awful quarterback play before Kyler Murray returned from injury.
Pairing Brown with Mahomes could resurrect his career and give the Chiefs yet another weapon in the passing game.
The Chiefs desperately needed a reliable pass-catcher behind Rashee Rice and Kelce, and if Brown gets close to his 1,000-yard form in 2024, the signing will be viewed as a master stroke by the Chiefs front office.
Grade: B
Re-Signing Drue Tranquill
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The Chiefs bought low on Drue Tranquill last season and were rewarded for the risk with 78 tackles and 4.5 sacks out of the linebacker.
Tranquill inked a three-year, $19 million deal to stay with the Chiefs in what should go down as a shrewd piece of business.
Kansas City could not splash out a ton of cash once it landed Jones because of his new deal and Mahomes' massive contract.
Tranquill was not one of the top free-agent linebackers, but he has had at least 75 tackles in each of the four full seasons he played.
The Chiefs retained Tranquill at a reasonable price within their budget restrictions and at a price that rewarded the player for his consistency last season.
it is a solid piece of business for both parties, and while Tranquill will not be one of the top guys most analysts point out on the Kansas City defense, he is a valuable piece to the team's success on that side of the ball.
Grade: A
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