Tyrann Mathieu rumors: 5 most likely landing spots

Could Tyrann Mathieu bolt for the Bolts to play for an AFC West division rival?

The team to beat for Mathieu’s services if he does not return to the Chiefs on a new deal would have to be the Los Angeles Chargers. The Bolts have over $57.3 million in available cap space. Only the Miami Dolphins have more at their disposal this offseason. While turning heel in division would be a total spite move, the Chargers should be good enough to make the playoffs next year.

All the pressure in the world is on second-year head coach Brandon Staley. While he is a defensive-minded head coach, this roster is too talented and too well-constructed by general manager Tom Telesco to not be a top-seven team in the AFC. With Justin Herbert entering his third NFL season out of Oregon, the time is now to hop on the Chargers bandwagon before it is too late.

If Mathieu goes to the Chargers, he makes an AFC West rival weaker simply upon his L.A. arrival.

Look for Tyrann Mathieu to be with the Kansas City Chiefs until he is not

So what if the Chiefs used the franchise tag on Brown instead of on Mathieu? It was a better idea anyway, as Brown is a good bit younger than Mathieu and has yet to make big money before. By going to the market, all this does is tick up the price of what it will cost to retain Mathieu’s services. If he leaves for another team, the Kansas City defense will get dramatically worse.

While Kansas City is over $4 million in the hole, they can free up enough cap space to re-sign him if they cut defensive end Frank Clark and get wide receiver Tyreek Hill to agree to a restructure. The Chiefs would save $13.4 million by cutting Clark. Keep in mind while Hill is slated to make $20.685 million in 2022, he only stands to be a $2.65 million dead cap hit for the upcoming year.

The salary cap gymnastics are not as menacing if the Chiefs are serious about retaining Mathieu.