Getty With more championships comes more difficult decisions for Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach (center).
The Kansas City Chiefs elected to part ways with star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed via trade this March, and they could be forced to make a similar decision in 2025.
“The Chiefs will face more key free-agent decisions a year from now as linebacker Nick Bolton, center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith see their rookie contracts expire,” Arrowhead Pride analyst Jared Sapp warned on March 24.
Continuing: “All offensive linemen are covered under a single franchise tag number — set by ever-increasing left tackle salaries. The linebacker franchise tag number is similarly skewed by monster salaries for standing edge-rushers in 3-4 defenses. Because of this reality, none of these players are realistic tag candidates.”
Sapp pointed out this 2025 “reality” while discussing what KC general manager Brett Veach might use the Chiefs’ newfound cap space on after dealing Sneed. One option would be getting a head start on future re-signings, per the Arrowhead Pride contributor.
“If the Chiefs want to retain the services of one or more of Bolton, Humphrey and Smith, they will probably need to negotiate contract extensions this offseason,” Sapp explained. Noting: “After the players received mandatory raises under the league’s proven performance escalator, new deals may actually lower their existing cap numbers.”
Having said that, Sapp also argued that the Chiefs’ “calculus” in moving on from Sneed may have “been driven by more than salary cap considerations.”
“It is possible the Chiefs wanted to use some of the almost $20 million he was scheduled to earn in actual cash for signing bonus payments to at least one of the pending free agents for 2025,” he stated.
The impending free agent status of these three integral starters — not to mention age and position — may have also impacted Kansas City’s willingness to commit to Sneed long-term.
Creed Humphrey Profiles as Likeliest Chiefs Extension in 2024
If Veach wanted to take care of one of these three now, to help lessen his daunting 2025 task later, Humphrey is probably the guy.
For starters, the reliable center has yet to miss a single start over the course of his NFL career. He’s also one of the most consistent players at his position since Jason Kelce and could easily take over as the class of the league now that the latter has retired.
Humphrey’s proven performance escalator (PPE) that Sapp mentioned adds even more incentive to get a new deal done with the center.
Because of his snap count, Humphrey’s PPE boosted his cap hit all the way up to approximately $5.242 million in 2024. Smith’s cap hit on the other hand increased to nearly $3.99 million and Bolton only saw his cap number rise to approximately $3.517 million after missing time with injury.
“With a huge salary jump, [Humphrey] might be more of an extension candidate than imaged,” Sapp voiced on X when this news first became apparent on February 27.
It wouldn’t be the worst idea to lock up Patrick Mahomes’ two-time Super Bowl center, tying the key offensive lineman to the two-time MVP quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Could Chiefs Move on From Joe Thuney in 2025?
In order to retain superstar defensive lineman Chris Jones and some financial flexibility, the Chiefs moved on from Sneed. Who will they move on from in order to keep Humphrey, Bolton and Smith in 2025?
While it’s certainly possible one of those three will sign elsewhere, another potential cap casualty could be veteran left guard Joe Thuney.
Thuney has been a warrior for KC over his first three seasons with the franchise, starting 57 games including regular season and playoffs. He’s been voted to the Pro Bowl twice during this run, while also earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2023 and second-team All-Pro honors in 2022 — not to mention two Super Bowl rings.
Needless to say, Thuney has been worth every penny of the $80 million contract he signed back in 2021.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the fact that the Chiefs might have to seriously consider trading or releasing the sturdy blocker next offseason at age 33. Thuney’s cap hit will remain a little over $26.971 million in 2025, and Kansas City can save a cool $16 million by parting ways in any capacity.
If Thuney continues to play at a high level, a trade might be possible next offseason. If not, the old cut or restructure ultimatum could become a real scenario with younger priorities set to hit the open market in March of 2025.