Kansas City Chiefs retaining Super Bowl team with Sammy Watkins

The Kansas City Chiefs will be making one hell of a title defense.

After agreeing on a restructured deal with wide receiver Sammy Watkins — first reported by Yahoo’s Terez Paylor — the Chiefs saved $5 million in precious cap space. They also finalized keeping the final piece of their offensive core from last year’s championship outfit.

It might seem odd for Kansas City to pay $16 million against the cap to keep Watkins. However, there are numerous reasons.

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For starters, the Chiefs watched Watkins dominate in the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl. He had a subpar regular season of 52 catches for 673 yards and three touchdowns (all coming in Week 1). As a result, Watkins was considered an easy future cut as the playoffs rolled around.

However, Watkins was instrumental as teams doubled wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce. He caught 12 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown over Kansas City’s final two games.

Is that production over a two-week span worth $16 million? In a vacuum, no. Not a chance. For the Chiefs, who only need Watkins to be healthy and perform in January and February? Yes, provided his salary doesn’t interfere with keeping the other core parts of the team.

To the latter point, Kansas City is yet to see anybody leave who played at least 57 percent of their units snaps a year ago. If the Chiefs can re-sign Bashaud Breeland, they’ll have completed that feat, something that to this writer’s research, hasn’t been done by a Super Bowl champion since the 2001 New England Patriots.

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It’s an almost impossible chore keeping a title team together. Guys retire, guys get paid elsewhere and cap constraints force tough choices. With the offseason still in full swing, perhaps general manager Brett Veach still has a few of those agonizing calls ahead. For now, though, the Chiefs are better-positioned to win a second consecutive Super Bowl than any team in years.

With Watkins back in the fold, the Chiefs can use the 32nd-overall pick on a cornerback, interior offensive lineman or linebacker. The offense is all but set at the skill positions, with a slight caveat at running back if the value becomes too great to pass up.

With training camp four months away — hopefully — there’s ample time for circumstances and rosters to change. The Kansas City Chiefs, though, must be feeling very good about where they sit after managing to keep another star in the fold for 2020.