3 free agents the Kansas City Chiefs will be glad they didn’t sign

3. Za’Darius Smith (Minnesota Vikings)

Lastly, and arguably the most important issue that the Chiefs faced this offseason, was improving upon the pass rush. The team ranked 29th in sacks last season with a lowly total of just 31. As Pro Bowlers and All-Pro caliber pass rushers flooded the AFC West — Chandler Jones and Khalil Mack being the most notable — Chiefs fans were left to hope that somebody, anybody, would come to Kansas City.

The closest that the team came to signing a player among the same ranks as who was added elsewhere in the division was Za’Darius Smith. While there was never much more than rumors surrounding his potential to end up in K.C., his 16 sacks between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, back-to-back Pro Bowls, and second team All-Pro selection from 2020 had fans fired up.

Once more, Smith didn’t meet the requirements for Veach and Co.

Za’Darius Smith will turn 30 before the season begins as he earns a 3-year, $42 million dollar deal from the Minnesota Vikings. After not playing for the Packers last season, the timeline comparison between Smith and Frank Clark is too eerily similar to feel good about. Unfortunately, while he made huge contributions en route to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl 54 victory, Clark, in consideration to his pay, has been a bust in Kansas City. The Chiefs signed him on the heels of the best season of his career, where he recorded 13 sacks and hauled in an interception. The team paid him with the expectation of similar success, but three years in, Clark has disappointed.

Frankly — pun intended — the Chiefs cannot afford to make another mistake overpaying a pass rusher who may or may not be past his prime. The defensive line heading into this season remains the thinnest of any positional group in Kansas City. However, the ways in which they are creating space (i.e. cutting costs elsewhere, restructuring Clark’s deal, etc) for the future is allowing the team to lean more aggressively into an overall downsizing, all while still maintaining talent and extending their winning window.

Only time will tell if this approach of “trimming the fat” that the Chiefs have taken this offseason was the right decision or not, but the team will surely be happy to go on without contractual obligations to Stephon Gilmore, Jarvis Landry, and Za’Darius Smith.