Chiefs prepared to lose Frank Clark, Melvin Ingram, but what about Tyrann Mathieu?

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach made it clear the team will be focused on defense at the start of the offseason. 

Hearts remain broken all over Kansas City, as the Chiefs suffered a devastating loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. Looking ahead to next season, could the team take the field without some studs?

That sure looks to be the case. For Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, he said Kansas City is going to focus on defense to start the offseason, but it’s really looking like the futures of Frank Clark, Melvin Ingram and Tyrann Mathieu are totally up in the air.

Chiefs GM Brett Veach has some massive decisions to make this offseason

Starting with Ingram, the pass-rusher made his way to Kansas City from Pittsburgh in the middle of the 2021 season. He really impressed with the Chiefs and fans want him back in town. However, Ingram could demand a handsome payday and test things in free agency. However, he may return to Kansas City in hopes of trying to win a Super Bowl.

Meanwhile for Clark, he’s still under contract with the Chiefs through the 2023 season, but he’s got a $26 million cap hit for 2022. If the Chiefs were to release Clark, they could end up saving $19.5 million in cap space. Kansas City and Veach might make a tough call here.

Last but not least, no one has lost focus on Mathieu. The hope was that the two sides would have been able to agree to an extension, but that didn’t get done.

Now, Mathieu is all set to be an unrestricted free agent. When asked about his future after the loss to the Bengals, Mathieu had tears in his eyes talking about what Kansas City has meant to him. He obviously wants to come back. It’ll be on Veach to make that happen.