Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Throughout the season, keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to submit your questions about the Kansas City Chiefs!
The Chiefs are 5-0 after a 22-6 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers that left many fans wondering why the team didn’t look more dominant in a divisional victory that never truly seemed in doubt. Let’s see what’s on our readers’ minds.
FoxBox2021 asks:
If wide receiver Rashee Rice stays out longer, and Xavier Worthy has more performances like he did against
the Chargers, would it be likely the Chiefs would be comfortable in letting Rice walk in free agency?
I think Rice’s first taste of free agency after the season is going to be complicated. Beyond demonstrating that his off-field issues are behind him, Rice entered 2026 needing to prove that he can stay healthy. Other than six offensive snaps in Week 4, he has now missed two games.
Worthy has played well in the last two games. One thing that always frustrates me about the third-year pro is that he was drafted to provide a vertical element to complement what the Chiefs have in Rice. However, some of Worthy’s best games have come in essentially Rice’s catch-and-run role when the troubled wideout has missed. It was definitely encouraging to see Worthy reel in seven passes for 73 yards against the Chargers. However, he also finished the game with a 4.3-yard average depth of target (ADoT). That is not the player he was drafted to be.
Ultimately, I still expect Rice to somehow still be a Chief in 2027, even if it is on an incentive-laden “prove it” deal. Should a bidding war unexpectedly open for his services, however, the Chiefs should feel pretty confident they can get much of the production from Worthy, who will likely be entering his own contract season in 2027 unless the Chiefs exercise an expensive fifth-year option for 2028.
TheSovereign1587 asks:
It seems rookie pass rusher R Mason Thomas is beating blockers regularly, creating pressures but can’t seem to close the deal with sacks. From a coaching/technical standpoint, what does he need to do to take the next step and start getting sacks?
I am very confident that as Thomas gets more time in the film room with a veteran coaching staff, he will hone his craft. His first five games should provide some good experience to build on. Though Kirk Cousins and Justin Herbert take more than their share of sacks, both are crafty veterans who know how to get the ball off quickly to thwart a rookie pass-rushing technique. He also has film to study of going against a mobile quarterback in Malik Willis.
Sacks can sometimes come in bunches, and I won’t be surprised if there is a stretch where Thomas turns his high pressure rate into prettier results on the stat sheet.
Most rookie pass rushers take time getting acclimated. The player Thomas is most often compared to is Nik Bonitto of the Denver Broncos, who ended his rookie season with only 1.5 sacks and six pressures. Thomas already has more pressures through five games (nine) than a player considered with the league’s best had as a rookie.
BuckeyeChief asks:
Is what the Chiefs are doing sustainable for a deep playoff run and will they trade for help at WR before the Nov. 10 deadline?
I think Kansas City’s defense is playing well, but I think they will be playing even better as the playoffs near. I expect the young talent will be a more well-rounded unit than the famous 2022 squad that boasted multiple rookie starters.
I am not sure what the offense is doing through five games is sustainable. Perhaps Kenneth Walker really is just a Derrick Henry-level running back that is ready to hold up to extreme usage. However, I think the team has to find a way to involve rookie Emmett Johnson more in the run game. Johnson’s potential on screen passes is also one of the most feasible ways for Kansas City to raise the floor and ceiling of the offense.
In the receiving game, I think the Chiefs can win a lot of games with the current group, but the depth is already being tested. Not having Tyquan Thornton to take the top off of defenses is also an issue that now must be worked around. The floor of the current receiving room also depends on tight end Travis Kelce continuing a high snap count and remaining a top focus of opposing defenders.
A month from now, I do predict that there will be at least one wide receiver added. I am not sure if that will come via trade or a reunion with the ever-controversial Tyreek Hill. Unless the Chiefs find an opportunity to add a cost-controlled talent with high upside, I suspect the focus will be on adding a situational deep threat, rather than someone to replace any of the current starters.
da’Monk asks:
What dead money sits on kicker Harrison Butker’s contract and is there an upside, financially, to cutting him now?
There is no financial benefit to the Chiefs were they to release Butker during the season. They would still owe the remainder of his $5.8 million base salary for 2026. Because he cannot be replaced with an unpaid intern, the move would cost salary cap space as his hypothetical replacement’s salary is added.
I do not expect Butker to be released during the season. If his struggles become too much for the Chiefs to work through, my guess is you would see a mystery placement on Reserve/Injured.
NFL players truly enter contract seasons in the last year that their salary is guaranteed. Although Butker is nominally signed for two more seasons, I do not expect him to be brought back at his current non-guaranteed $5.7 million salary for 2027. The Chiefs will be able to save $4.4 million against the 2027 cap by moving on while leaving a $2.8 million deal money charge.
Otis#89 asks:
What needs to be done to fix the short yardage issues?
The Chiefs have not run a quarterback sneak since the night the world saw Patrick Mahomes’ kneecap put back into place on the field in Denver in 2019. Once again, opposing defenses knowing that Mahomes is not going to push forward for a first down seems to limit what the Chiefs can do.
We have seen Kansas City use tight ends for quarterback sneaks with Blake Bell and Noah Gray in the past. Every time that has been used, however, it seems to be something defenses solve very quickly.
One possible path would be to have quarterback Justin Fields situationally on the field for short yardage. I wonder if that is something we will see in the weeks to come.
With third-string running back Brashard Smith seeming to have no role on either offense or special teams, I have seen some thoughts of replacing him with veteran Kareem Hunt, who was unstoppable on short conversions in 2025. It would still seem difficult to use a roster spot on a running back who would only be used in one specific case.
The Chiefs have a very veteran offensive staff, and their offensive coordinator and running backs coach played a combined 241 games in NFL backfields. This is a clear weakness of the team that they have to find the solution to before it is too late.
Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! We will be back after the Chiefs to face the Seattle Seahawks on next week’s “Sunday Night Football.” Keep watchingThe Feed for an opportunity to ask your questions.
