Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Each week, watch for your opportunity to submit your Kansas City Chiefs questions in The Feed, which is found on AP’s home page.
The Chiefs could not get the
job done in Week 9’s 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. After a week to stew over the loss, let’s see what is on our readers’ minds ahead of an important AFC West showdown with the Denver Broncos.
DanSaleaumuafanclub asks:
In the last few years, we’ve seen plenty of articles about how the Chiefs will get slammed by a cap crunch at the end of the season. Then others point out how the team can maneuver to free up a lot of money. Is there a reason to believe the crunch is “realer” this offseason?
I wouldn’t lose significant sleep over the Chiefs’ perceived salary cap issues. Yes, the numbers on various contract websites look concerning. Some estimates currently put Kansas City at almost $43 million over the 2026 limit (with only 36 players signed for next season). The Chiefs undoubtedly have a plan.
Much of the shortfall can be made up by moving off the final seasons of a few contracts. In addition — like with most large deals — the Chiefs have been planning for a second-season restructure of right guard Trey Smith’s contract. Most importantly, it’s very unlikely quarterback Patrick Mahomes will carry a $78 million cap hit in 2026; he may be in line for a new market-setting contract.
Still, the crunch may be more real than usual. The front office will have important decisions to make about the 26 players who will become free agents in March. That work will begin in the defensive line room, where even solid role players can be prohibitively expensive. I also suspect the Chiefs will want to keep young talent in-house with new deals for cornerback Trent McDuffie and wide receiver Rashee Rice.
There’s little reason to worry about the Chiefs making the salary cap work, but the margin of error may be lower than we’ve seen in recent years. A whiff in free agency or the draft could prove more difficult to work around.
Chiefs4life107 asks:
I know everyone is upset about the pass rush — as am I — but why hasn’t the defensive line coach come under fire for the poor effort his unit has been giving? Pass rush is like playing defense in basketball: it’s more of a “want to” mentality.
When the Chiefs hired defensive line coach Joe Cullen in 2022, I thought he was a strange pairing with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. As a defensive line coach with the Baltimore Ravens — and then as a coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars — Cullen had shown much different front-7 preferences than Spagnuolo. But just the same, the two have found success together.
After the season ends, Kansas City will have to have some difficult conversations about the pass rush. Cullen’s performance should be scrutinized, along with the scouting process that built the current group of players. Unfortunately, his injury will prevent us from assessing the staff’s development of second-round defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott — and we should hope that rookie pass rusher Ashton Gillotte can build on the flashes he has shown.
The Chiefs also need to determine the degree to which Spagnuolo’s rigid demands for the defensive line — both in physical measurements and plug-and-play ability in run defense — limit the pool of available pass rushers. Something needs to change, because defensive tackle Chris Jones now seems to be showing the effects of playing six seasons’ worth of games in the last five years. “Chris Jones and friends” no longer looks like a viable roster strategy.
Ultimately, however, the pass rush will be judged by what happens in the postseason — assuming Kansas City participates.
Papajazz asks:
Since Mahomes became the starter, we have always been in the AFC championship game. That’s an amazing run. This season may interrupt that run. If we don’t make it there this year, will there be more changes to the team than in prior years?
I don’t think the team should blow everything up if the Chiefs fail to reach the AFC championship. Eventually, a Mahomes-led Chiefs team will see its season end before late January — just like it happens for 28 teams every year.
That said, Kansas City is probably due for some changes on both the roster and the coaching staff. The salary cap can only bend so far, and some free agents will move on for 2026. Some pending free agents already have hypothetical replacements on the roster, but others will require the team to be creative in adding talent.
The Chiefs’ coaching staff has been remarkably stable in recent years. In part, this has been because the team’s seasons have ended after the coaching cycle is largely finished, causing some assistants to miss opportunities elsewhere. Conversely, coaches Kansas City might want could be off the market before the team is ready to hire them.
I do think an earlier end to the season would spur more change than we have seen in recent years.
Chiefs4ever asks:
Why don’t the Chiefs give Brashard Smith more touches?
Electriclight asks:
Will Elijah Mitchell go on a tear in the playoffs?
While I don’t think we should always take reports about how close a team came to trading for a player as smoking-hot gospel, the Chiefs clearly talked to the New York Jets about obtaining running back Breece Hall before last week’s trading deadline. What does that say about the team’s existing depth?
So far, Kansas City has had a limited (but intentional) role for Smith. Some garbage time snaps in blowout wins have skewed a couple of game logs. While his potential is tantalizing, we still need to remember he is a seventh-round rookie who barely played the position in college. After the bye, it will be interesting to see if the staff feels he is ready for an expanded role.
We also don’t know if the Chiefs’ interest in Hall was spurred by concern over running back Isiah Pacheco’s injury. On Monday, head coach Andy Reid implied that Pacheco (who missed the Buffalo game) still might not be ready to go for Denver.
If Pacheco misses Sunday’s game — and Mitchell still doesn’t dress — that probably closes the book on him ever working his way into the Chiefs’ running back rotation.
Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Keep watching The Feed for a chance to ask your questions.
