The Kansas City Chiefs are out to improve their roster during the course of the 2022 NFL offseason. Part of that will be retaining key players on offense, defense and special teams. Handing out contracts to running backs is always a point of contention in the NFL as they’re known as one of the most replaceable positions. Will the Chiefs reward Darrel Williams with a new contract after his 2021 NFL season?
A former undrafted agent out of LSU in 2018, Williams signed a one-year deal with Kansas City last offseason, earning $2.13 million with just under a million in guaranteed money attached to the deal. After proving to be a valuable backup in the 2020 playoffs while filling in for Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the team brought him back. He further emphasized that point during the 2021 NFL season, operating as the starting running back in 7-of-17 games played. Williams filled in for Edwards-Helaire again when he dealt with both an early-season MCL sprain and a late-season shoulder injury.
As a result, Williams put up the best season of his young NFL career. He amassed 191 touches for 1,010 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns on the year. He was one of only three players in Kansas City to cross the 1,000 scrimmage yard mark along with Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. That’s elite company to be in, but could it also price Williams out of Kansas City?
The soon-to-be 27-year-old running back could find other teams interested in his services were he to hit the open market. The Chiefs are unlikely to get in a bidding war to retain him and likely would look to sign him to a contract potentially under his market value. That said, with Edwards-Helaire and reserve/future signee Brenden Knox as the only two running backs under contract, it’s possible that Kansas City values Williams enough to find a way to bring him back in 2022.
We already know that the Chiefs have met with at least one running back at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. It’s possible that they’re looking for mid-to-late round options knowing they won’t be able to bring back all of their pending free agents at the position. Jerick McKinnon is also a pending free agent and could be higher up the priority list given how he finished as the starter for the team during the postseason.
