2019 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 50th in the National Football League, their 60th overall, their seventh under head coach Andy Reid, and third under general manager Brett Veach.
In the offseason, the Chiefs released two of their longest-tenured players: Justin Houston and Eric Berry. The Chiefs started the season with a 1–3 record at home, their worst record after four home games since 2012. However, they began the season 4–0 on the road, their best road record after four road games since 2013. With a Week 14 Oakland Raiders loss and a win over the New England Patriots, the Chiefs clinched the AFC West, extending their team record division title streak to four consecutive. They also clinched the franchise's fifth consecutive playoff appearance, one short of the franchise record of six consecutive from 1990–1995. The Chiefs also finished undefeated in the AFC West for the second time under Andy Reid, extending their record within the AFC West since 2015 to 27–3. They clinched their second straight bye to the Divisional round of the AFC playoffs due to a Week 17 win against the Los Angeles Chargers combined with a Patriots loss to the Miami Dolphins.
In the Divisional round, the Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans 51–31 despite falling behind 24–0 in the second quarter to give the Chiefs playoff wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. The 51 points they scored was a franchise record for a postseason game. The win, along with the Baltimore Ravens' loss the previous night, allowed the Chiefs to host the AFC Championship for the second time in franchise history. They defeated the Tennessee Titans 35–24 in the AFC Championship advancing to Super Bowl LIV, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31–20 to win their first championship since Super Bowl IV in 1970.
NFL Top 100
The Chiefs had six players ranked on NFL Network's annual Top 100 players countdown, which was tied for second most in the league. Reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes was ranked 4th, the highest ranking ever by a Chiefs player. Additionally, he was the highest ranked player on the countdown that was not ranked in 2018 and was the second highest player ever that was unranked the previous season.| Rank | Player | Position | Change |
| 4 | Patrick Mahomes | QB | NR |
| 19 | Tyreek Hill | WR | 21 |
| 21 | Travis Kelce | TE | 3 |
| 36 | Chris Jones | DT | NR |
| 85 | Frank Clark | DE | NR |
| 94 | Mitchell Schwartz | T | NR |
Staff
Coaching changes
| Coach | Position | Reason left | Replacement |
| Bob Sutton | Defensive Coordinator | Fired | Steve Spagnuolo |
| Britt Reid | Defensive Line | Promoted | Brendan Daly |
| Mike Smith | Outside Linebackers | Accepted job with another team | Britt Reid |
| Mark DeLeone | Inside Linebackers | Accepted job with another team | Matt House |
| Emmitt Thomas | Defensive Backs | Retired | Dave Merritt |
| Al Harris | Defensive Backs/Cornerbacks | Fired | Sam Madison |
| Jay Valai | Defensive quality control | Accepted job with another team | Terry Bradden |
Roster changes
Players signed
Below are players signed in the offseason through free agency.| Player | Position |
| Justin Senior | T |
| Sammie Coates | WR |
| Davon Grayson | WR |
| Dontae Johnson | CB |
| E. J. Manuel | QB |
| Harold Jones-Quartey | S |
| Carlos Hyde | RB |
| Tyrann Mathieu | S |
| Damien Wilson | LB |
| Alex Okafor | DE |
| Bashaud Breeland | CB |
| Blake Bell | TE |
| Keith Reaser | CB |
| Jeremiah Attaochu | LB |
| Zack Golditch | G |
| Nick Keizer | TE |
| Neal Sterling | TE |
Cuts
Below are players who were released during the offseason| Player | Position |
| Justin Houston | LB |
| Eric Berry | S |
| Dillon Gordon | T |
| Step Durham | CB |
| Tejan Koroma | C |
| Sammie Coates | WR |
| T.J. Linta | QB |
| Dontae Johnson | CB |
| Jarvis Jenkins | DE |
| Leon McQuay III | FS |
| Justin Senior | OT |
| Gary Johnson | OLB |
| James Williams | RB |
Futures contracts
Below are players that were signed as a futures players, which are typically players that have not played in a regular season. These players usually spent the previous season on a practice squad.| Player | Position |
| Josh Crockett | WR |
| Raymond Davison | LB |
| Ryan Hunter | T |
| Joey Ivie | NT |
| Chase Litton | QB |
| Robert McCray | OLB |
| Leon McQuay III | SS |
| Henry Mondeaux | DT |
| Pace Murphy | T |
| Aaron Ripkowski | FB |
| Martrell Spaight | LB |
| D'Montre Wade | CB |
| Cavon Walker | DE |
| David Wells | TE |
Unrestricted free agents
Below are players with expiring contracts that can sign with any team without the Chiefs receiving any sort of compensation. Also included is if the player re-signed with the Chiefs or signed with another team.| Player | Position | Re-signed?* |
| Jeff Allen | G | Yes |
| Allen Bailey | DE | No |
| Kelvin Benjamin | WR | No |
| Chris Conley | WR | No |
| Jordan Devey | G | No |
| Demetrius Harris | TE | No |
| Mitch Morse | C | No |
| Steven Nelson | CB | No |
| Orlando Scandrick | CB | No |
| Anthony Sherman | FB | Yes |
| De'Anthony Thomas | WR | Yes |
| Spencer Ware | RB | No |
| Charcandrick West | RB | No |
| Frank Zombo | OLB | No |
Restricted free agents
Below are players with expiring contracts that have three or fewer accrued seasons with the Chiefs that can receive a qualifying offer from any NFL team, the Chiefs can choose to either match the offer or receive a draft pick as compensation depending on the tender placed by the Chiefs which can be 1st round, 2nd, or original round. If no offer sheet is given, the player will receive a one-year contract with the Chiefs for a salary based on the tender placed on the player, $2.879 million for a first, $2.023 million for a second, or $1.323 million for an original round tender. If a tender is not placed, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.| Player | Position | Tender | Qualifying offer | Matched?* |
| Jordan Lucas | FS | Original round | None Signed tender | N/A |
| Terrance Smith | ILB | Not placed | - | N/A |
Exclusive-rights free agents
Below are players with two or fewer seasons of tenure with expiring contracts. If the Chiefs makes a qualifying offer the player has no negotiating rights with other teams, and must either sign the tender with the Chiefs or sit out the 2019 season. If a qualifying offer is not made, the player is an unrestricted free agent.| Player | Position | Qualifying offer?* | Signed?† |
| Harrison Butker | K | Yes | Yes |
| Alex Ellis | TE | No | N/A |
| Justin Hamilton | NT | Yes | Yes |
| Marcus Kemp | WR | Yes | Yes |
Trades
Below are any trades that included at least one player. Trades that featured only draft picks being traded for both teams, are listed in NFL Draft section.| Player/Pick Received | Team | Compensation |
| 2nd round pick 2020 NFL Draft | San Francisco 49ers | LB Dee Ford |
| DE Emmanuel Ogbah | Cleveland Browns | S Eric Murray |
| DE Frank Clark 3rd round pick 2019 Draft | Seattle Seahawks | 1st & 3rd round pick 2019 NFL Draft 2nd round pick 2020 NFL Draft |
| LB Darron Lee | New York Jets | 6th round pick 2020 NFL Draft |
Draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 56 | Mecole Hardman | Wide Receiver | Georgia |
| 2 | 63 | Juan Thornhill | Safety | Virginia |
| 3 | 84 | Khalen Saunders | Defensive tackle | Western Illinois |
| 6 | 201 | Rashad Fenton | Cornerback | South Carolina |
| 6 | 214* | Darwin Thompson | Running back | Utah State |
| 7 | 216 | Nick Allegretti | Guard | Illinois |
Draft pick trades
- The Chiefs received a sixth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and a second round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in exchange for cornerback Marcus Peters and a fourth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
- The Chiefs traded a fourth round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in exchange for linebacker Reggie Ragland.
- The Chiefs traded wide receiver Rod Streater and a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
- The Chiefs traded their first round in the 2019 NFL Draft, their third round selection in the 2019 Draft, and a 2nd round selection in the 2020 draft to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for defensive end Frank Clark and the Seahawks 3rd round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft.
- The Chiefs traded a second round selection and their 5th round selection to Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams 2nd round selection
Staff