The Kansas City Chiefs recognized their need for help on both sides of the ball and took steps in the free agency "tampering period'' to acquire that help.
But now they have to pay for it.
Two of the biggest blinking lights on general manager Brett Veach's dashboard were in the offensive line and and at cornerback.
So ... With Joe Thuney moving on to the Chicago Bears comes the signing of former San Francisco 49ers rotational tackle Jaylon Moore on a two-year, $30 million deal.
And with the needs in the secondary comes the signing of cornerback Kristian Fulton.
Wednesday marks the start of the NFL business year, and it's not just about free agency ... is also about being cap-compliant.
And the Chiefs have made some moves to get there.
The Chiefs have restructured the contracts of QB Patrick Mahomes and defensive tackle Chris Jones, thus creating $49.5 million in 2025 cap space.
And that just happens to be the space needed for Kansas City to officially sign their two new guys.
The Chiefs' restructuring here, by the way, does not require Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones to make sacrifices. They aren't giving up money. Their salaries remain the same ... but it's a bookkeeping move that pushes their cap impact down the road ...
And keeps the Super Bowl window in the Mahomes era that much more open.
Not everyone is sold on the players added, of course. Example?
Moore as the starting tackle.
We've got NFL Network's Brian Baldinger calling it a "band-aid" move by the franchise.
And we've got CBS Sports' latest mock, in which they have KC getting Ohio State's Josh Simmons.
"Josh Simmons had a torn patellar tendon cut his 2024 season short after starting six games at left tackle for Ohio State last season," CBS Sports writes. "If not for the injury, he could have been drafted a lot higher. Simmons allowed just one QB pressure and no sacks on 152 pass-blocking snaps last season, which was good for the lowest pressure rate allowed (0.7%) by any tackle with at least 100 pass block snaps. Kansas City gets a steal here."
We don't know KC's next move when it comes to the top of the draft.
But we know the GM Veach move when it comes to the cap ... so Mahomes and Jones are in the news with "new contracts,'' in a sense.
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This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 8:59 AM.