2016 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 2016 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 47th season in the National Football League, the 57th overall and the fourth under head coach Andy Reid and the fourth and final season under general manager John Dorsey who was fired June 22, 2017. The Chiefs clinched their first AFC West division title since 2010. The Chiefs also clinched a first-round bye for the first time since 2003, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional round.
Violation of anti-tampering policy
On March 9, 2016, the NFL announced that the Chiefs had violated the league's anti-tampering policy, while pursuing wide receiver Jeremy Maclin during the 2015 off-season. The NFL defines tampering as prospective teams contacting soon-to-be free agents before NFL policies allow, which is two days prior to the beginning of the new league year. As punishment, the Chiefs forfeited their 2016 third-round selection, a 2017 sixth-round selection, and were fined $250,000. In addition, head coach Andy Reid was fined $75,000 and general manager John Dorsey was fined $25,000. The Chiefs immediately appealed the decision believing the punishment was excessively harsh and inconsistent with punishments that have given to other teams in similar situations. On April 19, the NFL denied the Chiefs appeal however they did reduce the team's fine to $200,000 and Reid's fine to $60,000.NFL Top 100
The Chiefs had an NFL best 9 players in the annual Top 100 Players countdown.| Rank | Player | Position | Change |
| 26 | Justin Houston | LB | 1 |
| 55 | Eric Berry | S | NR |
| 65 | Marcus Peters | CB | NR |
| 75 | Jamaal Charles | RB | 63 |
| 80 | Derrick Johnson | LB | NR |
| 81 | Alex Smith | QB | NR |
| 84 | Tamba Hali | LB | 14 |
| 91 | Travis Kelce | TE | NR |
| 93 | Jeremy Maclin | WR | NR |
Roster changes
Offseason
;Reserve/future free agent contracts| Player | Position |
| Tyrell Adams | LB |
| Da'Ron Brown | WR |
| Deveron Carr | CB |
| Kenny Cook | WR |
| Dominique Davis | DE |
| Reid Fragel | T |
| Laurence Gibson | T |
| Cameron Gordon | OLB |
| Jordan Kovacs | SS |
| Keith Lewis | CB |
| Michael Liedkte | G |
| Trey Millard | RB/FB |
| Jimmy Staten | DE |
| Alameda Ta'amu | NT |
| Ross Travis | TE |
| Fred Williams | WR |
;Retirements
| Position | Player | Seasons with the Chiefs | Years pro | Date announced |
| FS | Husain Abdullah | 3 | 7 | March 28 |
| DE | Mike DeVito | 3 | 9 | April 11 |
;Free agents
Draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 37 | Chris Jones | Defensive tackle | Mississippi State |
| 3 | 74 | KeiVarae Russell | Cornerback | Notre Dame |
| 4 | 105 | Parker Ehinger | Guard | Cincinnati |
| 4 | 106 | Eric Murray | Cornerback | Minnesota |
| 4 | 126 | Demarcus Robinson | Wide Receiver | Florida |
| 5 | 162 | Kevin Hogan | Quarterback | Stanford |
| 5 | 165 | Tyreek Hill | Wide Receiver | West Alabama |
| 6 | 178 | D. J. White | Cornerback | Georgia Tech |
| 6 | 203 | Dadi Nicolas | Linebacker | Virginia Tech |
Notes
- The Chiefs forfeited their original third-round selection as part of the punishment for violating the NFL's anti-tampering policy.
- The Chiefs acquired an additional fifth-round selection in a trade that sent safety Kelcie McCray to the Seattle Seahawks.
- The Chiefs traded their 1st round draft pick and 7th round pick to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for the 49ers 2nd round pick, 4th round pick, and 6th round pick
- The Chiefs traded their 2nd round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange the Buccaneers 3rd round pick and 4th round selection
Undrafted free agents
| Position | Player | College |
| CB | Shannon Edwards | Fresno State |
| G | Garrick Mayweather | Fordham |
| T | Zach Sterup | Nebraska |
;Cuts
| Position | Player |
| WR | Kenny Cook |
| G | Paul Fanaika |
| G | Ben Grubbs |
;Players cut in the offseason before playing for the Chiefs
| Position | Player |
| G | Jake Bernstein |
| C | Ben Clarke |
| LB | Cameron Gordon |
| S | Jimmy Wilson |
| WR | Fred Williams |
| LB | Tautvydas Kieras |
| G | Michael Liedtke |
| T | Laurence Gibson |
| S | Jordan Kovacs |
| S | Keith Lewis |
| LB | Efe Obada |
| SS | Peni Vea |
Camp transactions
;Cuts| Position | Player |
| Alameda Ta'amu | DT |
| Tre Jones | CB |
| Shannon Edwards | CB |
| Vernon Harris | CB |
;Signings
| Position | Player |
| Bryce Cheek | S |
| Nick Foles | QB |
| Jeron Johnson | S |
| Malcolm Jackson | CB |
Preseason transactions
;Cuts;Signings
;Trades
| Position | Player/Pick Received | Team | Compensation |
| CB | CB Kenneth Acker | San Francisco 49ers | 7th round pick 2018 NFL draft |
| N/A | Undisclosed draft pick 2018 NFL draft | Arizona Cardinals | CB Marcus Cooper |
| N/A | Undisclosed draft pick | San Francisco 49ers | WR Rod Streater |
;Roster cut downs
| Position | Player |
| S | Bryce Cheek |
| DE | Niko Davis |
| T | Curtis Feigt |
| CB | Malcolm Jackson |
| WR | Seantavius Jones |
| WR | Mitch Mathews |
| LB | Jonathan Massaquoi |
| WR | Kashif Moore |
| C | Drew Nowak |
| Position | Player |
| LB | Tyrell Adams |
| WR | Da'Ron Brown |
| CB | Deveron Carr |
| T | Reid Fragel |
| S | Jamell Fleming |
| WR | Frankie Hammond |
| QB | Kevin Hogan |
| S | Jeron Johnson |
| DE | David King |
| LB | Andy Mulumba |
| C | Daniel Munyer |
| QB | Aaron Murray |
| TE | Brian Parker |
| G | Jarrod Pughsley |
| S | Shak Randolph |
| RB | Darrin Reaves |
| LB | Terrance Smith |
| DE | Jimmy Staten |
| T | Zach Sterup |
| CB | Brock Vereen |
Regular season transactions
;Trades| Position | Player/Pick Received | Team | Compensation |
| N/A | None* | Green Bay Packers | RB Knile Davis |
;Cuts
| Position | Player |
| CB | KeiVarae Russell |
| DE | Nick Williams |
;Signings
| Position | Player | Previous team |
| T | Bryan Witzmann | Dallas Cowboys |
| DE | Kendall Reyes | Washington Redskins |
| LB | Terrance Smith | Kansas City Chiefs* |
| G | Mike Person | Atlanta Falcons |
| DL | Jarvis Jenkins | New York Jets |
| RB | Knile Davis | Green Bay Packers† |
| CB | Terrance Mitchell | Kansas City Chiefs* |
;Players involved in multiple transactions
This list is for players who were involved in more than one transaction during the season
| Position | Player | Final status |
| LB | Dezman Moses | Free agent |
| T | Jordan Devey | Chiefs active roster |
| LB | Ramik Wilson | Chiefs active roster |
| DT | Rakeem Nuñez-Roches | Chiefs active roster |
| LB | Sam Barrington | Saints active roster |
| LB | Sio Moore | Cardinals active roster |
| CB | Terrance Mitchell | Chiefs active roster |
| DT | David King | Chiefs active roster |
| RB | Bishop Sankey | Vikings practice squad |