3 Chiefs who definitely won't be back after Chris Jones mega-deal

The Kansas City Chiefs dumped cold water on a few smoldering embers Saturday night, re-signing Chris Jones to a record five-year contract worth $95 million guaranteed. That gust of wind you felt last night was the collective sigh of relief from the entire population of Kansas City, maybe the whole state of Missouri.

While the Jones deal was top priority for Brett Veach and the Chiefs front office, this unambigious victory for the Chiefs does not come without complications. Jones is the NFL's highest-paid DT — ever. Mahomes is the highest-paid QB. Travis Kelce is near the top of the TE list. And so forth.

At some point, money runs out.

Jones puts incredible strain on the Chiefs' tight finances, which could lead to the exit of several key free agents (and trade candidates). It was impossible to see the Chiefs' repeating last season's success without Jones, but now the goal becomes taking one step forward without taking multiple steps back.

Here's who is on Kansas City's chopping block.

3. Chiefs just aren't getting enough from Derrick Nnadi anymore

One defensive tackle re-signs, but another will depart. Derrick Nnadi started all 17 games for the Chiefs last season, registering 29 tackles (one for a loss), one QB hit, and one sack. To put it bluntly, he was one of the weakest links it an otherwise elite defense. Nnadi struggled to contain the run and was equally bad at pressuring the QB in passing scenarios.

Here's the breakdown from Devon Platana and our friends at KC Kingdom.

"The 27-year-old defensive tackle's latest campaign was fairly mediocre. Although his 16 solo tackles and one sack were improvements over last year's numbers, it still wasn't close to the production that fans were used to from 2018 to 2021. It didn't help that Nnadi's 12.1% missed tackle rate was a career-worst.

To further put into perspective just how bad Nnadi was, you just need to look at his PFF grades. When it comes to eligible interior defenders, he ranked 21st-worst against the run (42.0), ninth-worst as a pass rusher (51.8), and ninth-worst overall (41.4)."

Not great, Bob!

Nnadi struggled across the board. The former third-round pick simply has not been the same over the last couple years. He has earned unlimited goodwill for his contributions to three Super Bowl runs, but it's time for the Chiefs to cut Nnadi loose.

Several teams will line up to take a shot on the 27-year-old, who should still have several years of productive football left in the tank. He was excellent in the earlier stages of his career, with four straight seasons of 35+ tackles to open his Chiefs tenure before his recent decline.

The Chiefs need to get smart about their expenses moving forward, especially when building the defense around Jones. There is simply no way to justify keeping Nnadi around after last season. There should be cheap replacement-level players available in free agency who perform more reliably.

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