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Coming off a 6-11 season and with limited salary-cap space, the Kansas City Chiefs will have to be choosy when determining which of their free agents to bring back for 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, here\u2019s a look at the team\u2019s top 10 unrestricted free agents this offseason, based on each player\u2019s overall value from a league standpoint (while getting an assist from Daniel Popper\u2019s top 150 free agents list\u00a0at The Athletic<\/em>).<\/p>\n Watson is a huge Chiefs success story after the team selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-2 cornerback started 21 regular season games the last two seasons, missing the others with injuries. He has given the Chiefs consistent outside cornerback production while also serving as a willing tackler in the run game.<\/p>\n Those guys aren\u2019t cheap in free agency. Popper projects a four-year, $73 million deal for Watson, and that\u2019s likely to be out of the Chiefs\u2019 price range unless they decide to trade All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, Watson said in December,\u00a0\u201cI love Kansas City. I love the fans. I love everything about it, front office down to the players.\u201d<\/p>\n Cook quietly had a career year in 2025, posting an 83.5 defensive grade at Pro Football Focus \u2014 the fourth-highest mark among 65 safeties who took at least half their team\u2019s snaps.<\/p>\n One of Cook\u2019s top skills was getting rushers on the ground. He missed just five tackles all season per PFF\u2019s data, and his 5.6 percent missed-tackle rate was seventh best among those 65 safeties.<\/p>\n The Chiefs certainly benefited from this. K.C.\u2019s defense was fourth best in the NFL when it came to limiting opponent explosive plays (12-plus-yard runs and 16-plus-yard passes) per TruMedia, and the team also tied for the fewest 20-plus-yard runs allowed (five).<\/p>\n Cook should be looking at a multiyear deal this offseason, and he\u2019s likely to receive a more lucrative offer elsewhere. Like Watson, though, Cook told The Athletic<\/em> in December he\u2019d welcome a return to K.C. if it happened.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not? We\u2019re trying to create a dynasty,\u201d he said. \u201cI love what we\u2019re trying to build here from the top down \u2014 from the coaches to the corporation down to the players and the people that we meet along the way. They bring in a lot of good guys and good dudes who want to work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Better conditioning than in 2024 helped Travis Kelce have another productive season. (Jamie Squire \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Yes, Kelce is technically<\/em> an unrestricted free agent. Still, it would be shocking if the 36-year-old decided to play with anyone but the Chiefs if he returns for a 14th season.<\/p>\n Though Kelce didn\u2019t have the same speed or hip-swivel in 2025 that he possessed in his glory days, he remained plenty productive in the last year of his previous contract. He finished fourth among all NFL tight ends with 851 receiving yards, and thanks to some extra offseason work on his conditioning, he displayed a renewed level of burst that wasn\u2019t always present a season ago.<\/p>\n That showed up in some of the advanced stats. Kelce forced nine missed tackles in the regular season, per PFF\u2019s data, which was triple the amount he had during the 2024 regular season.<\/p>\n Defenses also continued to show Kelce plenty of respect. That included a Week 17 game when the Denver Broncos double-teamed him on the game-deciding fourth-down pass.<\/p>\n Popper projects a one-year, $10 million contract for Kelce, but given the tight end\u2019s team-first ways, one has to wonder whether the team could get him for less. A cheaper deal could technically benefit both sides: K.C. would have more money for free agency, while Kelce would be making a real-life monetary sacrifice for the good of the team, which would only enhance his status as one of the most beloved Chiefs of all time.<\/p>\n Chenal has carved out a nice role after being drafted in the 2022 third round.<\/p>\n No, he is not an every-down linebacker. And he can struggle with coverage in space. Still, the team found plenty of creative ways to use him while also capitalizing on his elite strength and athleticism.<\/p>\n Nicknamed \u201cThe Beast\u201d by teammates and coaches, Chenal flashes most as an elite run stopper who is unafraid to take on blockers. He was also used situationally as an edge rusher and displayed elite special teams ability.<\/p>\n He won\u2019t be a fit on every roster or with every defense, which might give the Chiefs a better chance to re-sign him than some of the others above.<\/p>\n Hunt does one thing, but he does it extremely well: He grinds out tough gains as a short-yardage specialist.<\/p>\n That\u2019s plenty valuable for this ball-control team because turning third-and-1s into first-and-10s has been a big part of the offense\u2019s success over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n Hunt has relished getting a second chance with the Chiefs after they cut him in 2018, so another one-year deal for just above the veteran minimum would seem to make sense for both sides.<\/p>\n That potential signing shouldn\u2019t stop the team from adding two other players to its running back corps this offseason, however, as K.C. looks to add the type of explosiveness that isn\u2019t Hunt\u2019s strength.<\/p>\n The Chiefs waited patiently the last two seasons for Pacheco to show renewed burst after he sustained multiple injuries. Unfortunately for both parties, it never fully reappeared.<\/p>\n Pacheco, who ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash time at the 2022 NFL combine, simply hasn\u2019t had the same speed following a productive first two seasons.<\/p>\n NFL\u2019s Next Gen Stats provides some evidence. In 2023, he hit 15 mph or more on 29 of his 205 carries. During the next two seasons combined, though, he had just 15 15-mph spurts \u2014 all on an almost identical number of rushing attempts (201).<\/p>\n Pacheco is an energy-giver as a teammate and has never been afraid to take on contact with a physical running style. But he also doesn\u2019t elude tackles well and hasn\u2019t established himself yet as a reliable receiver.<\/p>\n He seems likely to sign elsewhere, with that team hoping the 26-year-old can see a career resurgence with better health luck.<\/p>\n Hollywood Brown seems likely to move on in free agency as the Chiefs consider younger receivers this offseason. (David Eulitt \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It seems like a distant memory, but after receiver Xavier Worthy went down with an injury in Week 1 last season, K.C. targeted Brown 16 times in that loss to the Los Angeles Chargers \u2014 tying for the fifth-highest total of any NFL receiver in a game in 2025.<\/p>\n Brown\u2019s role was never intended to be that, and in later weeks, he returned to the type of complementary piece at wideout that should be more his specialty at age 28.<\/p>\n In the end, Brown was neither a problem nor a solution for the Chiefs\u2019 passing attack with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He seems likely to move on as K.C. sifts through younger options this offseason.<\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to know how the Chiefs view Thornton after his 2025 season.<\/p>\n He emerged during summer offseason workouts and was the team\u2019s best story of the early season, turning into one of Mahomes\u2019 most reliable targets while racking up 272 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the first five games.<\/p>\n When the team became healthier, though, Thornton lost playing time. He failed to get in on more than a third of K.C.\u2019s offensive snaps during any game between Weeks 6-13, and his production dropped off as a result.<\/p>\n Still only 25 and a former second-round draft pick, Thornton could return if promised a bigger role. More likely, though, is that another team will believe it can unlock more from the speedy wideout, who said during Super Bowl week he\u2019s looking to go to a place where he can \u201chave my fair share of targets.\u201d<\/p>\n A 2022 fourth-round pick, Williams fell out of favor on defense in recent seasons while settling into a special teams role.<\/p>\n He should benefit from a change of scenery, where another team will see if it can turn the 6-3 cornerback\u2019s physical tools into additional on-field production.<\/p>\n After nine pro seasons, Smith-Schuster still (somehow) is only 29 years old \u2026 even if his skill set resembles someone older.<\/p>\n His PFF grade declined a season ago, mostly because he wasn\u2019t as consistent a run blocker as in previous seasons. He still can be used as a zone-beater and doesn\u2019t shy away from tough catches in traffic.<\/p>\n A short foray to New England didn\u2019t work out for him a few years back, and he quickly signed up for a K.C. reunion. The Chiefs will need bodies to fill out their receiver room, so Smith-Schuster coming back at a near-vet-minimum salary could make sense for both sides.<\/p>\n Other notable unrestricted free agents:<\/strong> QB Gardner Minshew, DE Charles Omenihu, LS James Winchester, LB Jack Cochrane, CB Nazeeh Johnson, DL Jerry Tillery, S Deon Bush, TE Robert Tonyan, DL Mike Pennel, S Mike Edwards, RB Dameon Pierce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Which Chiefs free agents make the most sense to return in 2026? Here’s a first look.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-43473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-kansas-city-chiefs"],"yoast_head":"\n1. CB Jaylen Watson<\/h2>\n
2. S Bryan Cook<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n\n3. TE Travis Kelce<\/h2>\n
4. LB Leo Chenal<\/h2>\n
5. RB Kareem Hunt<\/h2>\n
6. RB Isiah Pacheco<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n\n7. WR Hollywood Brown<\/h2>\n
8. WR Tyquan Thornton<\/h2>\n
9. CB Joshua Williams<\/h2>\n
10. WR JuJu Smith-Schuster<\/h2>\n