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One roster move each AFC team should make during the 2026 NFL offseason | NFL.com
Kansas City Chiefs
2025 record: 6-11Restock the RB room.
Both Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco are slated for free agency, leaving K.C. with Brashard Smith as the lone back on the roster. Regardless of whether or not the Chiefs bring back Hunt and/or Pacheco, Andy Reid’s squad needs to upgrade the rushing attack. It was “3 yards and a cloud of dust” from the 2025 backfield, with the Chiefs generating just 2.7 yards after contact per carry — tied for the worst in the league, per Next Gen Stats. Their six runs of 10-plus yards over expected were tied with the Raiders for the fewest in the league. Adding a dynamic weapon to the backfield who can generate consistent chunk plays, including in the passing game, would be a boon with Patrick Mahomes coming off a knee injury.
Positions Chiefs Should Not Address Via Free Agency | Sports Illustrated
Linebacker
Last offseason, Kansas City re-signed Nick Bolton to a three-year, $45 million contract, which included $30 million guaranteed. The 25-year-old linebacker is a $19.2 million cap hit next season, and with him in the fold, the Chiefs should not go after either an aging or expensive option at the position.
Yes, Leo Chenal is a pending free agent, and Drue Tranquill could be a cap casualty, but even if both players depart Kansas City this offseason, the Chiefs can pair Bolton with Jeffrey Bassa, who was a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Deron Cherry comments on the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason plans | Chiefs Wire
“This team went on a run because they managed injuries, and this year we weren’t able to when you have your offensive line in disarray for the majority of the season. You’ve got guys out on defense, You’re working with new players, in the secondary and at other positions; it’s difficult, and that’s what I think this team has to adjust to going forward is getting those pieces back in play.” said Cherry, “Having to manage the cap and paying your premium players, huge salaries where you don’t have that ability or flexibility to go out and get what you need, just because of the salary cap issues. So hopefully they can get back to that point, get that incentive back with these players, and get that hunger back into the team, and I think that’ll happen.”
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The Giants hired Matt Nagy as OC. What does it mean for Jaxson Dart? | USA Today
That’s where Nagy’s history of running offenses with a similarly skilled quarterback comes in, raising concern. During Fields’ rookie season in Chicago, Nagy failed to fully leverage the two-way quarterback’s elite mobility. The then-Bears head coach often left Fields in straight dropbacks behind a mediocre offensive line rather than calling more designed quarterback runs or plays with a moving pocket, such as bootlegs and rollouts.
Beyond the balance Nagy will need to strike in getting Dart moving and letting him sling it from a stationary pocket, there are concerns about how the offense might perform with a relative lack of weapons. Kansas City’s offense under Nagy struggled in recent years without a strong running back group and more than one standout wide receiver.
The Giants have a better pair of running backs in Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy, but Malik Nabers is the only reliable pass-catcher on the 2026 roster with Wan’Dale Robinson set to hit free agency. Darius Slayton had the sixth-highest drop rate (14%) among receivers with at least 40 targets, and tight end Theo Johnson led all players with at least 30 targets at his position in drop rate (13.5%).
NFLPA’s interim boss: Players ‘have no appetite’ for 18th game | ESPN
“Our members have no appetite for a regular-season 18th game,” NFLPA interim executive director David White said at the union’s annual Super Bowl week news conference, citing player health and safety concerns that come with a longer regular season. “… The 18th game is not casual for us. It’s a very serious issue. It’s something that comes out of negotiations, and nothing will move forward until players have the opportunity to account for all of those factors, take that into consideration and then through negotiations, agree or not to the 18th game.
“But as it stands right now, players have been very clear they don’t have any appetite for it.”
While NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said adding an 18th game was “not a given” at his pre-Super Bowl news conference Monday, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft spoke about an expanded schedule with certainty in a January radio appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub from Gillette Stadium.
Tom Brady not pulling for Patriots in Super Bowl LX: ‘I don’t have a dog in the fight’ | NFL.com
“I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one. May the best team win,” Brady said this week on the Let’s Go! Sirius XM podcast with Jim Gray. “And in terms of the Patriots, this is a new chapter in New England, and I’m glad everyone’s embraced the Mike Vrabel regime, all the amazing players that have worked so hard to get their club to this position. We did it for 20 years. There was a little bit of a hiatus in there, but the Patriots are back and it’s a very exciting time for everyone in New England.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Report: Former Chiefs OC Matt Nagy will take over Giants’ offense
With the Reid connection, it will be worth monitoring Nagy’s desire to bring assistant coaches with him to New York from Kansas City. When Bieniemy spoke with local media about the future of the staff last week, offensive line coach Andy Heck was the only name dropped among the offensive coaches slated to return from the 2025 season.
Pass-game coordinator Joe Bleymaier has been with the Chiefs for 10 seasons, starting as an offensive quality control coach in 2016. He was also the team’s wide receivers coach for the final two years under Bieniemy’s initial tenure, then moved to his current role under Nagy’s leadership for three seasons.
Quarterbacks coach David Girardi has been in Kansas City since joining the team as an offensive quality control coach in 2018, the first season of Bieniemy’s first stint as the offensive coordinator. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach when Nagy was hired as offensive coordinator before the 2023 season.
