Chiefs’ Super Bowl hopes take hit as Andy Reid faces contract battle with star he admits has ‘unique characteristic’

The Kansas City Chiefs are locked in a contract standoff with their top cornerback.

Andy Reid‘s dynasty kick off their 2025 NFL season on Friday night, and Trent McDuffie will be playing without a new deal.

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Regarded as the second-best defender on the roster behind pass-rusher Chris Jones, McDuffie has had a number of conversations with Kansas City in recent weeks in an attempt to negotiate an extension.

However, according to ESPN, the two parties are not expected to agree a deal before the start of the season, and the cornerback will instead play under the fourth year of his rookie contract.

McDuffie is set to earn a base salary of just over $2.6 million in 2025.

The Chiefs have also exercised the fifth-year option on his contract, with his 2026 salary of $13.6 million now fully guaranteed.

McDuffie plays down contract issues

While being unable to secure a new deal will come as a blow to both Kansas City and the two-time All-Pro, both sides appear relaxed on the eve of the new season.

“Moving forward now, really, it’s just about the season and about (Friday’s) game,” McDuffie said ahead of practice on Sunday.

“I’m not too worried about the contract.

“That can just happen in the (next) offseason. Let’s just go out there and have a great year.”

General Manager Brett Veach, meanwhile, said last week that the two parties are going to ‘continue that dialogue’ and remained hopeful that ‘something gets worked out.’

With both McDuffie and the Chiefs apparently on the same page, the player could indeed get his extension later this season, instead of waiting until next year.

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Kansas City will be desperate to keep hold of their star cornerback, and will hope that any negotiations won’t come as a distraction while they hope to make a Super Bowl run again this year.

The player himself will have also been monitoring the market closely in recent days.

Cowboys sign CB to huge deal

Soon after the Dallas Cowboys traded star pass-rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, they extended another of their defensive players.

DaRon Bland signed a $92m, four-year extension on Sunday, four days before their season-opener at the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

He is getting $50m in guaranteed money, and the $23m average annual value on Bland’s new deal is the sixth best for cornerbacks in the league.

McDuffie, who is coming off his own personal best season in 2024, with his first two interceptions, 13 pass breakups, 59 tackles and forced fumble, will likely be hoping for similar money.

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He could also look to eclipse Sauce Gardner’s four-year, $120m extension with the New York Jets, if he performs in 2025.

What have Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid said about McDuffie in the past?

McDuffie has established himself as a cornerstone of the Chiefs defense, and he’s a teammate that quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be desperate to keep.

The pair have often gone toe-to-toe in training camp, and ahead of the 2024 season, three-time Super Bowl MVP Mahomes described McDuffie as a ‘great player’.

“That man is good,” he said after a practice battle last August.

“That man is really good and I always tell him I’m going to try him once or twice a day.

“He’s got me a couple times and I’ve gotten him, but that’s what makes great players great players.”

Reid, meanwhile, has previously described McDuffie’s ability to play bigger than his size because opponents rarely catch him out of position as a ‘unique characteristic’.

“He’s always under control and in balance,” the Chiefs head coach said last year.

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Both McDuffie and the Chiefs are willing to put contract talks to the back of their minds as football takes center stage on Friday, but given the cornerback’s value, Kansas City would be smart to get him locked down as soon as realistically possible.

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