The NFL offseason is heating up, as the legal tampering window opened on Monday at noon ET. While the Kansas City Chiefs have plenty of options for external free agents, the club is set to bring back one of its own first.
Per a report from Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest late on Monday morning, Kansas City has agreed to terms on a new deal for long snapper James Winchester.
"Chiefs have agreed to terms on a new contract for long snapper James Winchester, per source," Derrick wrote. "Terms not yet available. The ultra reliable Winchester, who hasn't missed a game in his career, will be back for season No. 10 in Kansas City."
Winchester, who turns 35 in August, has been with the Chiefs since 2015. Playing in 147 regular-season games, the former Oklahoma standout brings plenty of consistency and durability to the table. He also has 22 games of playoff experience with head coach Andy Reid at the helm, even dating back to when Alex Smith was under center at quarterback.
In his career, Winchester has 11 total tackles and two forced fumbles. He's logged 1,292 snaps in the regular season, including 135 in 2023-24. His previous extension, signed in 2021, was a three-year pact worth a combined cap hit of $3.85 million spanning the 2021-2023 seasons. This past campaign, he made $1.165M in base salary with a $155,000 signing bonus. He accounted for less than 1% of Kansas City's total team cap.
Seth Keysor of The Chief in the North newsletter had a short but sweet logic for his decision to bring Winchester back for 2024.
Winchester shouldn’t be expensive, and he works well with the best kicker in the NFL. That’s enough for me to bump him to the priority list.
This is a low-key move for the Chiefs, but a noteworthy one nonetheless. Winchester is as consistent as they come, and having him back will be nice for kicker Harrison Butker. Additionally, offseason signing Matt Araiza very well could be the club's holder for the kicking operation this coming season. Working with Winchester, someone who's done the job at a high level for years, could come in handy. Now that special teams coordinator Dave Toub is back on an extension, he sees one of his leading players returning as well.
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