Establishing a clear M.O. during the Andy Reid-Steve Spagnuolo years, the Chiefs have preferred to make their key cornerbacks one-contract players. A recent reminder of this strategy emerged last year, when the team traded L’Jarius Sneed.
After a Super Bowl LIX effort that saw the Eagles pick on Sneed replacement Jaylen Watson, the Chiefs showed more interest in making a notable cornerback payment. Kansas City signed Kristian Fulton to a two-year, $20MM deal. The ex-Titans and Chargers defender will be positioned to play opposite Trent McDuffie next season, but his signing came after the Chiefs pursued a reunion with one of the CBs they let walk in the past.
The three-time reigning AFC champions were in the Charvarius Ward market, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer. Ward, whom Kansas City turned from UDFA to upper-echelon starter after acquiring him via trade from the Cowboys, ended up signing with the Colts. Indianapolis deviated from its general blueprint as well, paying both Ward and Camryn Bynum on Day 1 of the legal tampering period. Chris Ballard’s team gave Ward a three-year, $54MM deal; it appears the Chiefs helped push that market to its endpoint.
Acquired straight up in a late-summer trade for guard Parker Ehinger in 2018, Ward became a primary Chiefs starter ahead of their Super Bowl LIV-winning 2019 season. Ward started three full seasons with the Chiefs, who moved on from the likes of Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson and Kendall Fuller during that time period. When it came time to pay Ward in 2022, Kansas City passed and let San Francisco hand out a three-year, $40.5MM deal. The Chiefs were able to get by without Ward, drafting McDuffie and turning to Sneed as an every-down player, but Ward also rewarded the 49ers.
When the Chiefs faced the Niners to wrap the 2023 season, Ward had received second-team All-Pro honors. He operated as a three-year starter in San Francisco, and while coverage metrics did not view the soon-to-be 29-year-old’s form on the level of his 2022 and ’23 campaigns, the boundary defender generated a big market. Receiving $27MM guaranteed at signing, Ward joined Byron Murphy, Carlton Davis and Paulson Adebo in signing an $18MM-per-year deal. Ward, Murphy, Davis and D.J. Reed ($16MM AAV) established a new market for third-contract CBs.
Ward will join Kenny Moore in Indianapolis, while Kansas City must now determine whether to break from its general Reid-years plan and give McDuffie a monster extension. The decorated cover man is now extension-eligible, but once the Chiefs pick up his fifth-year option, the 2022 first-rounder will be under contract through 2026. That will give the team time, though the once-stagnant CB market has risen over the past several months. McDuffie will be quite expensive to extend, and it will be interesting to see if the Chiefs pay their top Reid-era corner the new going rate.
Elsewhere on the Chiefs’ roster, they did bring in two of Ward’s recent 49ers teammates. Kansas City’s contract for ex-Christian McCaffrey backup Elijah Mitchell checks in at one year and $2.5MM in base value ($1.35 guaranteed), NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. This came after Jaylon Moore signed to be the team’s new left tackle.
Coming off a full-season absence, the injury-prone RB still scored a $1.1MM base salary guarantee from the Chiefs, via KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. The Chiefs, however, re-signed Kareem Hunt after agreeing to terms with Mitchell. These two are poised to back up Isiah Pacheco, who is not expected to be considered for an extension until he can show pre-injury form after suffering a broken leg last September.