The Kansas City Chiefs are going to be lacking a little star power on both sides of the ball this season. On offense, they traded away wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who became the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL after being sent to the Miami Dolphins. On defense, the team seems like they are ready to move on from safety Tyrann Mathieu, who might just end up with the Indianapolis Colts.
Kansas City quickly signed Justin Reid away from the Houston Texans, which would likely signal the end of Mathieu’s three-year run with the Chiefs.
Kansas City did open up significant cap space when they traded Hill to the Dolphins, so there is always an outside possibility that he returns, especially if he doesn’t land the type of contract that he is seeking. But, with other needs on the roster, it seems highly unlikely.
Mathieu seems destined to play for the fourth different franchise in his career after spending the first five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. A one-season pitstop with the Texans occurred before landing in Kansas City.
Where could he land this offseason? One potential landing spot is with the Indianapolis Colts, who are one of the numerous teams that are interested in the All-Pro safety. According to NFL Rumors on Twitter via Jordan Schultz, the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders and Dolphins are all interested as well.
Given that level of interest, it is surprising that Mathieu remains unsigned in free agency. While there are varying amounts of money available to each of the teams listed, we have seen that franchises are more than willing to move money around if it means landing an impact player they believe will help them win games.
Indianapolis could certainly use some help on the backside of their defense. George Odum, who played 43.2 percent of the snaps last season, left in free agency to join the San Francisco 49ers. Andrew Sendejo, who played 55.8 percent of the snaps, remains a free agent.
The only addition the Colts made at safety thus far this offseason is Armani Watts, who also played with the Chiefs in 2021. Given the versatility that Mathieu brings to the position, he is a fit for virtually every team in the NFL.
Indianapolis would love to add that to their defense, as they already upgraded their pass rush by acquiring Yannick Ngakoue in a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders. Mathieu has played over 600 snaps as a deep safety, in the box and the slot since joining the Chiefs in 2019. He has proven much more durable later in his career, rarely coming off the field and averaging more than 1,000 snaps per season since 2017.
