Stories by Kansas City Star journalists, with AI summarization
The Kansas City Chiefs want to build another championship team, and it all starts in the offseason.
Contracts for Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones were restructured to create salary cap space, with moves designed to sustain long-term competitiveness. Adding free agents like left tackle Jaylon Moore signals the team's effort to address immediate needs while allowing flexibility to target additional talent via the NFL draft.
The Chiefs plan to focus primarily on defensive line reinforcements, but they have a history of back-end draft picks that pay off in the long run. They've resigned many key players and are committed to retaining a core group that complements Mahomes' record-setting leadership on the field.
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
NO. 1: ‘HOLLYWOOD’ BROWN, WHO WILL BE A FREE AGENT, SAYS HE FOUND JOY IN FOOTBALL AGAIN WITH CHIEFS
Wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown says he thoroughly enjoyed playing with the Chiefs. | Published February 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Pete Grathoff
NO. 2: HOW WILL CHIEFS ADDRESS LEFT TACKLE? HERE’S WHAT GM BRETT VEACH SAID AT NFL COMBINE
Here’s why the Chiefs’ ”tricky” dilemma has no easy solution. | Published February 25, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
NO. 3: SIX CHIEFS PLAYERS LISTED AMONG TOP 61 FREE AGENTS ON NFL NETWORK HOST’S LIST
Chiefs guard Trey Smith is No. 2 on this list. | Published February 27, 2025 | Read Full Story by Pete Grathoff
NO. 4: HOW SALARY CAP CHANGE AFFECTS CHIEFS — AND THEIR CHANCES AT NO. 1 FREE AGENT TARGET
Chiefs GM Brett Veach confirmed to The Star this player was the team’s top free-agent priority. | Published February 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
NO. 5: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS MAKE SURPRISE MOVE TO LOCK IN TOP FREE AGENT WITH FRANCHISE TAG
The Chiefs hope to sign him to a long-term extension. | Published February 27, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell Sam McDowell
NO. 6: FOUR MOVES KANSAS CITY CHIEFS CAN MAKE TO CREATE A HEFTY AMOUNT OF SALARY-CAP SPACE
The Chiefs have the ability to open up room under the NFL’s salary cap by making a series of moves. | Published February 28, 2025 | Read Full Story by Pete Grathoff
NO. 7: WHY THE CHIEFS ARE BRINGING BACK TREY SMITH —AND WHERE IT LEAVES THEM FOR FREE AGENCY
The Chiefs made a surprising move with the franchise tag. Here’s their explanation for it —and the reverberation from the decision. | Published March 1, 2025 | Read Full Story by Sam McDowell
NO. 8: LEFT TACKLE PROJECTED TO BE DRAFTED BY CHIEFS ALREADY HAS NICKNAME FOR PATRICK MAHOMES
One left tackle who met with the Chiefs at the NFL Combine is projected to be drafted by Kansas City in Pro Football Focus’ latest mock draft. | Published March 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Pete Grathoff
NO. 9: TRAVIS KELCE ACKNOWLEDGES THE CHIEFS’ BRASS MUST UPGRADE THE ROSTER AHEAD OF 2025 SEASON
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce talked about what the team needs to do in the offseason to prepare for another run at the Super Bowl. | Published March 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Pete Grathoff
NO. 10: CHIEFS TRADING TEAM MVP JOE THUNEY TO CHICAGO BEARS. HERE’S THE IMPACT FOR KC IN 2025
What do you think of the move? | Published March 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell Sam McDowell
NO. 11: HERE’S WHY THE CHIEFS TRADED JOE THUNEY, DESPITE NEEDING HELP ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE
The Chiefs roster didn’t improve on Wednesday, but it could in the long-term. That’s why this move matters. | Published March 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Sam McDowell
NO. 12: KINGSLEY SUAMATAIA CAN SUCCEED AS JOE THUNEY’S REPLACEMENT, SAYS FORMER CHIEFS PLAYER
A former Chiefs player talked about Kingsley Suamataia’s future as a guard. | Published March 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Pete Grathoff
NO. 13: AFTER JOE THUNEY, TREY SMITH MOVES, HERE’S WHERE THE CHIEFS STAND FOR FREE AGENCY
What should the Kansas City Chiefs do with each of their free agents? Let's go down the list. | Published March 7, 2025 | Read Full Story by Sam McDowell
NO. 14: CHIEFS TAKE ANOTHER FREE AGENT OFF THE MARKET, SIGNING LINEBACKER NICK BOLTON: REPORT
Nick Bolton has been a tackling machine for the Chiefs. | Published March 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Blair Kerkhoff
NO. 15: CHIEFS FREE-AGENCY TRACKER: KC ADDS 49ERS LT, RB AS 3 VETERANS DEPART | REPORTS
What do you think of these moves for the Chiefs? | Published March 10, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
NO. 16: CHIEFS FREE-AGENCY TRACKER, UPDATES: KC ADDS CB AS JUSTIN REID, D-HOP DEPART | REPORT
What do you think of the latest moves? | Published March 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
NO. 17: WHY CHIEFS ARE LIKELY TO GET ‘MR. IRRELEVANT’ DRAFT PICK IN 2025 — AND WHAT THAT MEANS
Here’s a list of the picks the Chiefs will have in the 2025 draft. | Published March 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
NO. 18: CHIEFS RESTRUCTURE PATRICK MAHOMES, CHRIS JONES DEALS TO MAKE SALARY CAP ROOM | REPORT
The Chiefs faced this 3 p.m. deadline. | Published March 12, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
NO. 19: WHY THE CHIEFS HAVE TARGETED THESE FREE AGENTS, AND WHAT’S LEFT TO ACCOMPLISH
What’s behind the Kansas City Chiefs’ early moves in NFL free agency? | Published March 14, 2025 | Read Full Story by Sam McDowell
NO. 20: KC CHIEFS ADD TO PASS RUSH, RE-SIGN VERSATILE EDGE RUSHER IN FREE AGENCY | REPORT
He hinted previously this offseason that KC is where he wanted to be. | Published March 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
NO. 21: CHIEFS’ NEW LEFT TACKLE LEARNED FROM ONE OF THE BEST.NOW, HE’LL PROTECT PATRICK MAHOMES
The Kansas City Chiefs hope Jaylon Moore is the answer at left tackle. | Published March 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by Blair Kerkhoff
NO. 22: WHO WILL CHIEFS TAKE IN 2025 NFL DRAFT? SEE KC STAR’S PREDICTIONS IN MOCK DRAFT
Our Mock Draft 1.0 has gotten a future Chiefs player correct (with the first pick) for three straight seasons. Will this be the fourth? | Published March 31, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
NO. 23: CHIEFS MOCK DRAFT 2.0: HOW MUCH EMPHASIS ON DEFENSIVE LINE FOR KC IN NFL DRAFT?
The Star’s latest mock draft for the Chiefs has them leaning toward defensive line early. | Published April 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Blair Kerkhoff
NO. 24: HE’LL GO FROM CHASING PATRICK MAHOMES TO HELPING KC. AND HE’S READY TO GET GOING
Here’s why having a full offseason in Kansas City was so important to this new Chiefs defensive end. | Published April 10, 2025 | Read Full Story by Blair Kerkhoff
NO. 25: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS MOCK DRAFT 3.0: HOW EARLY WILL KC TAKE AN OFFENSIVE TACKLE?
The Star’s Chiefs Mock Draft 3.0 was perfect with its first-round pick last year. Can we go 2-for-2? | Published April 13, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jesse Newell
This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists in our News division.
