Chiefs Chase Of Unprecedented Three-peat Got Harder This Offseason

The quest for a Super Bowl three-peat has been an impossible climb for all the would-be dynasties of the NFL. This offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs are turning their attempt to reach that untouched peak into an assault on Everest.

The Chiefs say their goal is to go where the undefeated Dolphins of the 1970s, the Steelers dynasties of the 70s and 80s, and even the Patriots during their 20-year run to six Super Bowls, failed to go.

But do they have to make it so hard on themselves?

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DECEMBER 10: Head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on during the second half of the game against the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 10, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

Football Challenges Are Just The Start

Coach Andy Reid's team will already face the considerable obstacles all defending champions must overcome to win it all again.

The Chiefs face seven playoff teams in the coming NFL season. They go up against some of the most accomplished quarterbacks in the game, including Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud, Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, and Justin Herbert twice.

They'll battle age, as Travis Kelce, for example, turns 35 during the season. And like all teams, they must overcome injuries and offseason moves that probably didn't make them stronger, such as the loss of cornerback L'Jarius Sneed in free agency. 

The Chiefs must overcome all that, and then the other stuff that most defending champions don't battle.

That stuff:

A possible suspension, not to mention jail time, for the club's most dependable returning receiver.

Distractions that have zero to do with football.

Possible division from within as well as outside the locker room.

And all together, it looks kind of daunting.

Let's address the uncommon and supplemental stuff beyond the football challenges everyone expected:

Rashee Rice Status Pending

The Chiefs are currently in limbo on the status of receiver Rashee Rice for the 2024 season. 

Rice, about to begin his sophomore season, put the coming campaign in doubt whe he seemingly helped cause a hit-and-run traffic accident in Dallas that left up to seven people injured, including two seriously enough to require hospitalization and turned multiple vehicles into junk.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was driving nearly 120 miles per hour seconds before a crash last month in Dallas, according to his arrest affidavit.

Rice faces eight criminal counts stemming from that accident. And beyond that, he faces scrutiny from the NFL and its Personal Conduct Policy.

The Chiefs, by the way, must make a decision on the extent to which Rice participates in the OTA sessions the club is starting this week. 

And Rice isn't the only player facing some legal issues.

Offensive tackles Wanya Morris and Chukwuebuka Godrick were arrested Thursday night on charges of marijuana possession. Both players made a video appearance before a Johnson County judge the next day and were released on $2,500 bond.

And, yes, these are misdemeanor charges that will likely go away. But, again, the NFL Personal Conduct Policy scrutiny looms.

KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 20: Harrison Butker #7 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on to the field during the second quarter of the game against the Washington Commanders at Arrowhead Stadium on August 20, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jason Hanna/Getty Images)

The Harrison Butker Saga

Speaking of scrutiny, there have been many eyes on kicker Harrison Butker's commencement speech at Benedictine College over a week ago..

It has led to something of a national conversation about, well, the role of women and men in society, pride month, and Joe Biden's seemingly at-odds Catholic faith and abortion stance.

(By national conversation, what I'm politely saying is a lot of people are yelling at each other or angrily pounding keyboards against each other on social media.) 

The NFL unwisely joined the fray by letting its DEI chief seemingly rebuke a player for speaking his mind.

The Chiefs have been wisely mum on the topic and will remain so until coach Andy Reid chooses to address it or not on Tuesday.

Butker is also laying low, choosing not to comment further.

But agree with Butker or not, whatever side of support or criticism one chooses, the thing is likely distracting to the Chiefs.

It's noise.

It's all noise for the football team that, like all teams, wants peace and quiet.

All of that stuff with Rice and the offensive tackles and Butker can be unhelpful to the cold, calculated assignment of winning football games.

Dec 25, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Gracie Hunt on field prior to a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Media Will Media

How?

Via the media, which is something of an enemy of such work.

The Kansas City Star, the paper of record covering the Chiefs, has authored at least eight opinion-filled pieces deriding Butker or painting his allies in a negative light in the past week. 

The Star did manage one report on support for Butker when Tavia and Gracie Hunt – the wife and eldest daughter of CEO Clark Hunt – spoke on his behalf.

But mostly the Star, which relies on the Constitutional protection of free press, has landed in opposition to Butker's Constitutional protections of free speech and freedom of religion. 

All the Star's spilled ink is nonetheless manageable.

Butker is a grown man and an NFL kicker, who has performed in front of thousands of people both rooting for and against him. The guy has kicked more field goals on the Super Bowl's world stage than anyone.

He can handle the heat as well as the approval. 

But the next time the Chiefs open their locker room to the media, somebody is likely to ask Butker's teammates for reaction to a speech they didn't deliver. Also, reaction to Rice's situation. Also reaction to the arrest of the offensive linemen.

So players not involved in any of those stories become part of the narrative.

Kansas City Chiefs star Chris Jones voiced some blunt support for Harrison Butker. What did Jones say? (Credit: Getty Images)

Players Will Be Asked Where They Stand

Some of those players are fine with that, even volunteer for the duty. All Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones, for example, has already come out in support of Butker.

But what about quarterback Patrick Mahomes? What about Kelce? And Kelce's girlfriend? What do they think of Butker's speech? 

And what do they think of Rice's situation? And what do they think of the personal conduct policy scrutiny on three of the team's players?

All of this is interesting to the public, but none is helpful to the team. It has more potential to divide than unite. And, yes, it mostly comes from outside the team.

But you're being naive to think players, the coaching staff, and other staffers don't have their own viewpoints. And a focus on those viewpoints debits from the attention to football and team cohesion and culture.

How much exactly the Chiefs' offseason distractions will cost them in the regular-season is impossible to quantify. 

But the assignment of repeating as Super Bowl champ for a third consecutive year is hard enough without even one extra challenge to overcome.