Kansas City Chiefs: 3 players who might be casualties of Chris Jones’ new deal

Has two years left on contract with no opt-outs. 

Travis Kelce is the No. 1 guy who should be concerned about getting an extension. Why? He is the Chiefs best offensive weapon outside of Mahomes and one of if not the best tight end in the NFL right now. A tight end is a quarterback’s security blanket, someone they can always go to when a play needs to be made. Rob Gronkowski has been Tom Brady’s security blanket for many years. Jason Witten was Tony Romo’s go-to guy. Mahomes is chasing Brady’s six rings. He’s made that clear.

The Chiefs are going to have to give Kelce a deal that he’s happy with and one that works for the team financially. It’s possible that a workaround is found in which Kelce is extended and doesn’t have to be given an entirely new deal, but that all depends on how badly he wants to win in Kansas City versus how much he wants to cash in on everything he’s accomplished in his career.

He has two years left on his current $46 million deal, and will be 32 when that contract ends after the 2021 season. Despite arguably being the best tight end in football, Kelce sits behind Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper as the highest paid tight ends in the league. When George Kittle gets a new deal from the 49ers, the market will be further reset and could complicate things for the Chiefs.

When the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, the Beastie Boys Fight for your right was a song he sang in celebration. As fun and charismatic as Kelce is off the field, he has also been productive on it. Kelce has gained 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last four seasons.

At 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, he’s a first down waiting to happen. He combines excellent route running in man coverage and zone with good hands. He makes plenty of plays in traffic and keeps drives alive. Kelce is worth the money, it’s just a question of how much he’ll want and how much the Chiefs will have left to give him.