Brett Veach prioritizing re-signing Chris Jones, L'Jarius Sneed

[RunKC]

What some of us have been wondering...

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said he is aware of the challenge the organization faces in re-signing both defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed but said it would be an offseason priority to get both players under new contracts.

"Sometimes I look at our situation and I'm like, 'I don't know how we're going to do this,' but we usually work through things systematically and have a list of the priorities,'' Veach said as the Chiefs continued preparations for Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers. "Certainly, Chris and LJ are at the top of the list.

"It's extremely hard because you have two keystone players there.''

Jones, 29, has been one of the NFL's top pass-rushers for years. He had 10.5 sacks this season to tie for the team lead after missing training camp and the first regular-season game while holding out for a new contract.

He didn't get the extension he was looking for, but the Chiefs sweetened the final season of his existing contract.

"It was important for us to mend the fences with Chris because we love him and he's an iconic player here, not just here, but I mean of all time,'' Veach said. "That was important for us, and we'll continue to work hard and see if we can get something done, but it will be a priority for us.''

The Chiefs used Sneed, 27, this season to defend against the opponent's top receiver much of the time, and none had big games against him.

Jones and Sneed are key players for an improved Chiefs defense that allowed fewer points than all but one other team during the regular season and held the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens to 41 total points in the playoffs.

The Chiefs had defenses that were at times competitive since Patrick Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018, but rarely were they consistently so. Veach and the Chiefs found the task of building a top defense difficult because the past few seasons they were carrying Mahomes' massive contract.

"I still remember in '17 and '18 just saying if we can just get them to punt just once we've got a shot,'' Veach said. "Now all of a sudden it's like all we've got to do is just score once and we're good.

"Going from where we were in '17 and '18 to having one of the best defenses, knowing the constraints we had of just paying [Mahomes] and probably drafting later [in rounds], I don't think I ever envisioned having a top one or two defense.''

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-ljarius-sneed

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by kccrow

Mahomes' contract structure isn't some big secret. They specifically designed it to kick money down the line when they need to. They will do it again. They can free up as much as 28.7m by converting the roster bonus to a signing bonus. They can free up to another 5.9m if they want to **** with restructuring salary into a signing bonus.

If they cut MVS and Omenihu, they are already at 43m in space cand can get up to over 70m. So, the Chiefs CAN do what they want it's just an IF they really want to dump it all in. I don't think you do that unless you win it this year and specifically go for a 3-peat.

Can they even cut Omenihu? I thought teams couldn’t cut injured players or something like that.

[T-post Tom]

Originally Posted by tredadda

Can they even cut Omenihu? I thought teams couldn’t cut injured players or something like that.

Do they want to cut him? Good young player at $10,970,000 for next season. Why cut him? (Assuming he recovers from injury, which he should.)

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by tredadda

Can they even cut Omenihu? I thought teams couldn’t cut injured players or something like that.

Yes. The only reason teams wouldn't is if a contract is guaranteed for injury. In that case, it makes no sense.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by T-post Tom

Do they want to cut him? Good young player at $10,970,000 for next season. Why cut him? (Assuming he recovers from injury, which he should.)

Because he tore his ACL and likely won't be available until the last month of the season, and won't be anywhere near 100% for the entirety of the season.

I mean, feel free to argue it all day long that we should keep him but I'm 100% on the other side of that fence and not changing my position on it. If he is usable come playoff time, sign him to a short deal then. Otherwise, just use the 7.2m to get someone who can help the entire season.

The only way I'd say keep him is if there is an injury guarantee I don't know about.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by T-post Tom

Do they want to cut him? Good young player at $10,970,000 for next season. Why cut him? (Assuming he recovers from injury, which he should.)

We should extend him. Drop his number next year when he's not playing and add a year or 2 to his time in KC.

[tmax63]

This. I saw enough of him to want him back. The injury may be a way for them to sweeten the deal enough to get him to extend a couple more years at a reasonable price without breaking the bank.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Rausch

We should extend him. Drop his number next year when he's not playing and add a year or 2 to his time in KC.

That's the course I'd go.

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by kccrow

Mahomes' contract structure isn't some big secret. They specifically designed it to kick money down the line when they need to. They will do it again. They can free up as much as 28.7m by converting the roster bonus to a signing bonus. They can free up to another 5.9m if they want to **** with restructuring salary into a signing bonus.

If they cut MVS and Omenihu, they are already at 43m in space cand can get up to over 70m. So, the Chiefs CAN do what they want it's just an IF they really want to dump it all in. I don't think you do that unless you win it this year and specifically go for a 3-peat.

Does salary have to be converted? Or could Mahomes theoretically say just knock my base salaries for the next few years down to league minimum, and save that number against the cap, while his roster bonuses get rolled into signing bonuses?

I hope that makes sense as to what I am trying to ask.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by kccrow

Because he tore his ACL and likely won't be available until the last month of the season, and won't be anywhere near 100% for the entirety of the season.

I mean, feel free to argue it all day long that we should keep him but I'm 100% on the other side of that fence and not changing my position on it. If he is usable come playoff time, sign him to a short deal then. Otherwise, just use the 7.2m to get someone who can help the entire season.

The only way I'd say keep him is if there is an injury guarantee I don't know about.

It's definitely one way to approach it. Another option could be to ... extend him and bump money down the road.

You'd get a good young player for a few more years at a potentially large discount (queue that one guy who lost his shit when they signed him to this deal flipping his shit again) while also getting a potential nice savings next year.

Say they turn his 1/$10.5M cap hit into a new deal. Add two years to the deal and turn his $6.7M base into a $1.1M base and drop the 330k game bonus while giving him a $9M signing bonus over the course of those 3 years. He gets more cash in his recovery year, the Chiefs get him late in the season as a reinforcement for the playoff push for just $3M more, and you have him presumably at a pretty good price for his age 28 and 29 season as a core defender.

The risk, I guess, would be that he's not available in 2024 at all. Or that he doesn't come back well in 25 and 26.

Payoffs seem pretty nice, though. Is it worth a $3M gamble against the 24 cap? Is it worth more?

I can see a route where, if they're confident in his recovery and his availability next year, KC decides to avoid a complete dead cap situation and save themselves a little in 24 (about $3M I guess, with the structure I'm discussing) to have him available at the end of the year and potentially at another discount in 25 and 26.

Risk is that you end up throwing an extra $3M against the 24 cap and $6M against future caps down the drain if he doesn't come back right.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Coogs

Does salary have to be converted? Or could Mahomes theoretically say just knock my base salaries for the next few years down to league minimum, and save that number against the cap, while his roster bonuses get rolled into signing bonuses?

I hope that makes sense as to what I am trying to ask.

Salary doesn't have to be converted. They can only touch the roster bonus component if they want. That said, they could take his salary down from 8.6m to vet minimum and convert the difference to signing bonus. That's where I got the "up to 5.9m" part from (4/5ths of 7.5m approx). The roster bonus can clear 4/5ths of 35.9m this year. It's kind of however they want to do it, really.

[duncan_idaho]

And re: Mahomes restructuring...

Any year KC can avoid a big restructure of his deal is a good one because it gives them future flexibility.

But the current deal is kind of structured in a way that if they start restructuring, they can continue to avoid the painful one-year cap hit by continuing to restructure and push money forward over five years until he hits a season where his base salary is low enough the restructure bonuses are no longer an issue.

The next 4 seasons are the "Big" hits in Mahomes' current deal. KC could easily keep moving big portions of his roster bonus forward every year and pay off the CC in 2028, when his cap hit is currently scheduled to drop below $30M.

If you look at the contract, it's pretty clear they were building in 2028 as an out.

2024 restructure: $35M, pushing $7M in each year to 25, 26, 27, 28
New 24 cap hit: $29m
New 25 cap hit: $68M
2025 Restructure: $35M, pushing $7M in each year to 26, 27, 28, 29
New 25 CAP HIT: $40m
New 26 cap hit: $77M
2026 restructure: $40M, pushing $8M in each year to 27, 28, 29, 30
New 26 cap hit: $42M
New 27 cap hit: $82M
2027 restructure: $40M, pushing $8M in each year to 28, 29, 30, 31
New 27 cap hit: $47M

Restructures in 28 due: $23M
Restrucutres in 29 due: $23M
Restructures in 30 due: $16M
Restructures in 31 due: $8M

And that's the plateau where you probably do his final contract. He'll be 33. You've got some money pushed forward in restructures you still have to pay off.

But you have the flexibility to design the last contact in a similar way, a nice 7-or-8-or-10 year long deal that lets you continue to flexibly push money forward as needed.

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by kccrow

Salary doesn't have to be converted. They can only touch the roster bonus component if they want. That said, they could take his salary down from 8.6m to vet minimum and convert the difference to signing bonus. That's where I got the "up to 5.9m" part from (4/5ths of 7.5m approx). The roster bonus can clear 4/5ths of 35.9m this year. It's kind of however they want to do it, really.

Thanks. I knew the 4/5ths part on the roster bonus. Can the 8.6 down to vet minimum "disappear"? Or does it have to be converted to signing bonus as well?

[Chris Meck]

I'm in on the bargain extension for Omenihu. It would be a great deal for the team moving forward.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Coogs

Thanks. I knew the 4/5ths part on the roster bonus. Can the 8.6 down to vet minimum "disappear"? Or does it have to be converted to signing bonus as well?

Theoretically, sure. Unlikely though.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

I'm in on the bargain extension for Omenihu. It would be a great deal for the team moving forward.

I'd be fine with that but then it becomes an issue of guaranteed money and structuring. I think you then need to use an option bonus for 2025 because you don't want to add signing bonus to this season.

Trigger the option in 2025 over, say, a 3-year extension while re-writing 2024 to vet minimum and performance escalators would be most ideal. You can still then free up 5-ish million.