The latest
Chiefs Don’t Get Enough Credit for Solving Prime 2025 Issue | Sports Illustrated
At this time 12 months ago, the biggest question mark facing the Kansas City organization wasn’t simply how they were going to solve left tackle. It was how they were going to solve their issue at left guard, too.
Thuney actually played both during a disastrous 2024 in which Andy Reid benched Kingsley Suamataia two games into the season. The rookie struggled mightily in his first NFL action at left tackle. After experimenting with several replacements, Reid and Heck finally settled on Thuney at left tackle and Mike Caliendo at left guard.
Draft capital
After the Super Bowl loss, the cap-strapped Chiefs lacked the ability to sign Thuney to a long-term contract. So, they traded him to Chicago for a fourth-round selection in 2026.
Financial implications
The money the Chiefs saved by trading Thuney to the Bears freed up cash to re-sign several players, including Hollywood Brown, Kareem Hunt, Charles Omenihu and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Looking back at 2025, Kansas City never would’ve won six games without that group. The Chiefs also were able to purchase a monumental insurance policy for Josh Simmons; they signed Jaylon Moore six weeks before drafting Simmons.
The financial benefits of the trade continue into this spring, too.
NFC Opponents
Arizona (3-14): Arizona will look much different in 2026, as the team is expected to move on from QB Kyler Murray this offseason. Former Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur jumped in-division to the Cardinals as their new head coach after the firing of Jonathan Gannon.
Atlanta (8-9): Despite closing with four straight wins, the Falcons finished under .500 and missed the postseason for the eighth consecutive season. That underwhelming performance led to the firing of head coach Raheem Morris and Atlanta hiring Kevin Stefanski to take over.
Los Angeles Rams (12-5): The 12-win Rams finished second to the Seahawks in a strong NFC West. They lost to those same Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, but Stafford won the first MVP award of his 17-year career at age 37.
San Francisco (12-5): Like the Rams, the 49ers clinched a Wild Card berth and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in that round. San Francisco had no chance in the Divisional Round, losing 41-6 to Seattle.
Seattle (14-3): The Seahawks won Super Bowl LX by defeating the Patriots 29-13. Some have suggested the Chiefs could visit Seattle in the season opener, though Patrick Mahomes’ injury timeline might complicate that idea.
Chiefs can’t afford to lose these 5 free agents after their 2025 collapse | Arrowhead Addict
Kansas City faces no bigger in‑house decision than what to do with fifth‑year safety Bryan Cook. The former second‑round pick is coming off the best season of his career, earning an 83.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2025 (fourth among 98 qualifying safeties). In recent years, the Chiefs have invested heavily at the position by bringing in external free agents like Tyrann Mathieu and his successor, Justin Reid. What they haven’t done is extend one of their homegrown defensive backs. Cook could be the first in a while, and his breakout season makes a compelling case for him to be the team’s top re‑signing priority this offseason.
Chiefs, Spagnuolo Get 9 More Headaches in 2026 | Sports Illustrated
Nine playoff teams and nine new playcallers
Despite finishing 6-11 and drawing a third-place schedule, the Chiefs still face nine opponents who made the 2025 playoffs. That list includes five games against the final four teams, conference championship finalists Denver (twice), New England, the L.A. Rams and Super Bowl champion Seattle.
There’s now another obstacle in Kansas City’s 2026 path, and it’ll land most painfully on the desk of Steve Spagnuolo.
Nine of the Chiefs’ 17 games in 2026 will be against teams that just replaced an offensive playcaller. That uphill road begins in the AFC West, where Spagnuolo has to game plan twice against new Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and twice against new Raiders head coach and Super Bowl champion Klint Kubiak.
Around the NFL
Raiders hire Seahawks QB coach Andrew Janocko as new OC | ESPN
Janocko will once again reunite with first-time head coach Klint Kubiak, whom he worked with in Seattle, New Orleans and Minnesota. Janocko was also a candidate for the same title in Seattle as Kubiak’s successor.
Janocko and Kubiak will be tasked with turning around a Raiders offense that was one of the worst in the league in 2025. Under Chip Kelly and interim offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, Las Vegas was last in points scored (14.2), rushing yards per game (77.5) and total yards (245.2), and 26th in red zone efficiency (50%).
Ex-Raiders QB Derek Carr Returning to NFL? Only for a ‘Chance to Win Super Bowl’ | Fox Sports
“Would I do it? Yes,” Carr said about a potential NFL return on his podcast, which Carr co-hosts with his brother and former NFL quarterback David Carr. “Would I do it for anybody? Absolutely not. … I have to be healthy, and I’d want a chance to win a Super Bowl. Obviously, that’s a tough thing to find. That’s hard to do.
“That’s not easy. … I had to say no [to teams] a couple of times, so far.”
David Carr noted that he “knows” his younger brother is healthy.
Could that team be the Minnesota Vikings, who missed the playoffs after letting Sam Darnold walk in free agency and saw first-year starter and former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy struggle in his first season under center? The Pittsburgh Steelers if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t return? The Atlanta Falcons if their new regime doesn’t believe in former first-round pick Michael Penix Jr.?
Derek Carr, a four-time Pro Bowler, retired from the NFL last year. This came in the wake of him suffering a “labral tear” and “significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.” The quarterback’s 2024 campaign with the Saints was also cut short in Week 14 due to a hand injury and sidetracked by an oblique issue earlier in the season.
“I mean, everybody pretty much knows what we need.” he told Sports Illustrated’s Russell Heltman. “I’ve said it out in the media. All I gotta do is sit back and watch. I can’t control that, so all I gotta do is control my production. I mean, at the end of the day, I’m just stating my opinion on what I think we need. So, you know, I sit back, let the organization do what they do, and I just gotta let my play do the rest.”
An argument can easily be made that the offensive line is a priority on par with the defense.
The O-line finished 28th as a unit in PFF’s end-of-season rankings, and for as great as Burrow is, he’s now missed large swaths of time in half of his six NFL seasons. It has become obvious in each of those instances that the Bengals go as he does.
However, Cincy fixing its defense would certainly make staying competitive easier. After ranking sixth in points allowed during the team’s second straight trip to the AFC Championship Game, the Bengals have finished 21st, 25th and 30th over the past three seasons, respectively. In two of those campaigns, the defense was 31st in yards allowed.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs mock draft roundup: Jeremiyah Love dominates prediction for nine
Since the regular season ended, the Arrowhead Pride staff has been monitoring all of the mock drafts authored by NFL media to see which players are being matched with the Chiefs most often. We have compiled information from 29 unique mock drafts published by 15 different outlets since January 12.
The most often-chosen player is no surprise to anyone following the early parts of this year’s draft cycle.
Chiefs’ selections in mock drafts
The top 4 most picked, as of February 12RB Jeremiyah Love — Notre Dame (41%)
DE Rueben Bain Jr. — Miami (17%)
S Caleb Downs — Ohio State (14%)
WR Jordyn Tyson — Arizona State (10%)
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