The Kansas City Chiefs will be hanging onto WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling for one more season.
According to the folks at Over The Cap, $6.44 million of Valdes-Scantling’s salary became fully guaranteed on the third day of the new league year (Friday, March 17). The Chiefs had the option to release Valdes-Scantling prior to that guarantee kicking in, which would have saved them some money against the 2023 salary cap with minimal dead money ($4 million). The fact that he’s on the roster with this salary now guaranteed, Kansas City will almost certainly be keeping him for the 2023 NFL season.
Valdes-Scantling finished the 2022 NFL season appearing in 17 regular season games with 11 games started. He recorded 42 receptions on 81 targets for 683 yards and two touchdowns during the regular season. His breakout performance in the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals was perhaps the most notable game of the season for Valdes-Scantling. He caught six receptions on eight targets for 116 yards and one touchdown when the team was extremely short on receiver depth. He had a quiet day in Super Bowl LVII, but he caught a six-yard touchdown reception against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round as well.
With JuJu Smith-Schuster leaving for New England in free agency, it makes sense that Kansas City would want Valdes-Scantling in the fold for some added continuity. In 2024, however, the Chiefs can release Valdes-Scantling at any point to create $12 million in salary cap space with just $2 million in dead money.
