The Kansas City Chiefs currently have just under $8 million in available cap space according to Over the Cap. And even if they were to free up more by restructuring long-term contracts like quarterback Patrick Mahomes and defensive lineman Chris Jones, they still have several priorities to attend to like re-signing right guard Trey Smith, figuring out a solution at left tackle and/or filling potential holes on the defensive side.

That doesn’t leave a ton of room for the role players this offseason, and KSHB 41 beat reporter Nick Jacobs believes Kansas City’s five restricted free agents (RFAs) could face a somewhat harsh ultimatum ahead of free agency.

“For me, all those [contracts] would have to be vet minimum,” Jacobs said on the February 23 edition of the “41 is the Mic” podcast, regarding the five KC RFAs — cornerback Nazeeh Johnson, linebacker Jack Cochrane, defensive end Malik Herring, tight end Peyton Hendershot and cornerback Keith Taylor.

“That may not be what they want to hear,” the reporter went on, adding that “they may think they can get better [offers] on the open market and if they do, they do.”

To explain, RFAs are “players with expiring contracts that have earned exactly three accrued seasons,” per Over the Cap. Teams are allowed to apply one of three “tenders” in order to try and retain an RFA — a first-round tender, second-round tender or right of first refusal.

In 2025, the projected amounts for each of those designations are $7.466 million, $5.351 million and $3.267 million, respectively.

As Jacobs and co-host Matt Derrick (Chiefs Digest) stated on the podcast, none of these five would get anything above the lowest “right of first refusal” tender, if they get anything at all.

Chiefs RFAs Nazeeh Johnson, Peyton Hendershot & Jack Cochrane Have Best Shot of Getting Tendered, Says Reporter

As noted above, Jacobs obviously suggested that KC could — and potentially should — let all five RFAs test their market in free agency. This would mean that the Chiefs elect not to use a “right of first refusal” tender on them, which would then allow each player to sign wherever they like.

To be clear, getting non-tendered does not preclude a free agent from re-signing with his former team, so Kansas City could theoretically get one or multiple of these RFAs back at a lower rate (i.e. a vet minimum contract) if they were to go this route. Of course, they could also lose said free agents.

Derrick didn’t necessarily disagree with Jacobs, but he did highlight Johnson, Hendershot and Cochrane as the three that he could see getting tendered, potentially.

“To me, I think Johnson and Hendershot are the two that I would consider,” Derrick voiced. Continuing: “I could see [special teams coordinator] Dave Toub maybe pounding the table for Jack Cochrane because he’s been a pretty valuable special teamer for them.”

In the end, Derrick concluded that at that $3.267 million value, only Hendershot and Johnson stand out as true tender candidates in his mind.

Should Chiefs Tender CB Nazeeh Johnson & TE Peyton Hendershot Ahead of NFL Free Agency?

With Cochrane, you’d really only tender the core special teamer if you have legitimate plans for him to take over for Nick Bolton at middle linebacker — but that feels unlikely considering the Chiefs have only trusted the former UDFA with 189 defensive snaps in his career and just 9 defensive snaps in 2024.

Similarly, Hendershot hasn’t really shown enough to warrant a tender following his trade acquisition last year.

“Hendershot — the only things I really know about him is, one, that [the Chiefs] traded for him, and two, I see a lot of pushing and shoving after plays… There’s just not a lot there other than the special teams factor from a tight end perspective,” Jacobs argued on the podcast. “They may draft a tight end, they may sign a tight end, and he’s just replaced at that point… I don’t see the value other than vet minimum for someone like Hendershot.”

Of the five, Johnson will probably be the toughest decision for general manager Brett Veach.

The former seventh-round selection has been teased as a potential starting CB on numerous occasions with KC. Unfortunately, injuries have slowed his progress throughout his career, and he’s only actually suited up for 33 games in three seasons (including playoffs).

While it would be nice to retain Johnson as depth in the secondary, Jacobs is probably correct that $3.2 million-plus is just too much to spend on an on-again, off-again contributor.