Tom Krasovic: Playoff break could benefit injured, aging Chiefs as they build to future

It’s seldom good when an NFL team looks worn out and talent-short in September, as happened with the Kansas City Chiefs this year.

The longtime AFC champions were “not looking physical enough to win the division,” I wrote on Sept. 23, while also describing K.C., then 1-2, as “mediocre or worse in several facets.”

The reckoning was completed Sunday afternoon in a 16-13 loss to the Chargers, dropping the Chiefs to 6-8 and out of the playoff picture.

It’s been a while.

Defying an NFL system that punishes success, the Chiefs reached 10 straight postseasons, the last seven AFC title games and five of the past six Super Bowls, winning three of them.

Such success can lead to overexposure.

When the Chiefs were eliminated Sunday, quieting a crowd in Kansas City, millions of football fans elsewhere rejoiced.

Finally, they won’t see the Chiefs in the playoffs.

I liked seeing Chiefs fan Taylor Swift and friends enjoy football as much as they did. But in these ultra-touchy times, some folks were bothered by it. They wearied, too, of crowds that moaned Chiefs chants as if they’d eaten too many hot dogs.

It’s time to see what Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers (10-4) and Sean Payton’s Broncos (12-2) can do in the Super Bowl tournament, representing the AFC West.

The Chiefs, for their part, will welcome the finish line.

Patrick Mahomes is headed to surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, a residual of a hit from behind by a Chargers defensive lineman on the final drive Sunday.

Fellow stars Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, likely feeling the enormous brunt of six Super Bowl runs, were reduced to picking their spots throughout this season and again on Sunday.

Kelce, 36, has said he might retire.

Make no mistake: that would be a blow. Even as a part-time focal point, Kelce is still far superior to any other Chiefs tight end. In the gotta-have-it moments, he was more reliable than any Chiefs wide receiver.

Jones, who’ll be 32 in July, seems certain to stick around.

The defensive tackle can’t be very optimistic, though, that any of his current linemates will free him of double teams next year.

So have the Chiefs now returned to the great mob of NFL teams, mediocre, streaky and ultimately not talented enough?

Are they staring at a lengthy rebuild and years of lukewarm football?

Maybe not.

There’s a realistic path that, as soon as late next season, leads to Kansas City rounding into dangerous form.

The NFL draft, for a change, will put coach Andy Reid and talent man Brett Veach in or near the top half of each round.

Since Reid’s first season in 2013, the Chiefs have gone into every draft with a first pick no higher than 18th. The one time they chose in the top half of the first round, they’d dealt three premium picks on draft night to ascend 17 spots and take Mahomes with the 10th pick.

That was eight years ago.

For now, the Chiefs stand 11th in the draft order.

In the final three games, they’ll lack Mahomes and may be without several other current starters who are injured, leading to, say, two more defeats. So, although the next draft class does not look very strong, Veach and Reid stand to improve their track record.

San Diego’s Josh Simmons adds to the optimism for 2026. At left tackle, the rookie’s athleticism was startling.

It won’t be surprising if Simmons, who logged eight games before a wrist injury likely ended his season, is a top-10 left tackle year from now.

In disrepair now, the offensive line has a fair chance of becoming a strength next year. Just 22, Kingsley Suamataia has had an encouraging season at left guard. Creed Humphrey is a top-5 center. Injured right guard Trey Smith, 26, will try to regain his top-10 status. Reid will evaluate two raw but large and athletic right tackles.

Getting creative, Chiefs leaders should tell Kelce they’d keep the door open late next season if he wanted to wait that long.

Mitchell Schwartz, a former Chiefs All-Pro right tackle, has suggested several adjustments that could pay off fast. The Chiefs, he told Robert Mays of The Athletic, would benefit from adding an assistant offensive coach with expertise in the Shanahan-McVay system. Those designs feature more condensed alignments and seamless coupling between the pass and run games.

More snaps from center, Schwartz said, would benefit Mahomes, the blockers and the running backs.

Reid, 67, and Mahomes, 30, have teamed up for five Super Bowl runs.

Next training camp, they’ll be coming off their first full-length offseason together. Recharged and reconfigured, they may view it as their final shared journey.

It wouldn’t be wise to count them out.