The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t ruled out the possibility of bringing back veteran RB Jerick McKinnon for a third season.
Speaking to media members on Thursday, Chiefs GM Brett Veach confirmed that the team has spoken with McKinnon’s camp. He suggested that the soon-to-be 31-year-old running back is taking his time in his free agency process, but contract talks could pick up after the draft, even if the team adds some competition at the running back position.
“Yeah, I think there have been some talks with Jerick (McKinnon),” Veach said. “He’s certainly a guy that we love and greatly admire. I think this falls a similar trajectory as last year where I think Jerick just likes to take his time and make sure that he’s ready to go both physically and mentally. I think the timeline last year was right after the draft where we were able to get with him. And so, I think once we get past next weekend, I think we’ll double up with a lot of these guys that might still have a chance to be on this roster.”
Remember, McKinnon didn’t sign with the Chiefs for the 2022 NFL season until the 13th of June. We later learned that this was in part due to an offseason injury that he was recovering from. Veach seems to be suggesting that both McKinnon and the team are operating on a similar time frame.
McKinnon has expressed some frustration about his market after having a dominant second half to his 2022 NFL season. McKinnon made NFL history, becoming the first running back in the Super Bowl era (since 1970) to record a touchdown reception in six consecutive games. No other running back has recorded a touchdown reception in four consecutive games in NFL history.
He clearly hasn’t had the most active market during the course of the 2023 NFL offseason. It should only strengthen the likelihood that he returns to Kansas City after the draft.
