The 2021 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 52nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 62nd overall and their ninth under head coach Andy Reid, looking to become the fourth team in NFL history to make three straight Super Bowls.
The Chiefs started off slowly at 3–4 but would finish the regular season 12–5, winning the AFC West division title for the sixth consecutive season and 14th overall. The Chiefs would host their fourth straight conference championship but lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime 27–24.
This would be the final season with long-time wide receiver Tyreek Hill, as he was traded to the Miami Dolphins on March 23, 2022. A 6-time Pro Bowler during his time with Kansas City, Hill's final game with the Chiefs was on January 30, 2022, the aforementioned AFC Championship Game vs. the Bengals.
Head coach Andy Reid recorded his 100th win as the Chiefs head coach on October 3, 2021, a 42–30 win over his former team, Philadelphia Eagles. Reid became the first coach in NFL history to win 100 games as a head coach with multiple teams as well as the first to lead multiple teams to four straight Conference Championships, previously doing so with the Eagles from the 2001 to 2004 seasons.
Season summary On March 4, 2021, the Chiefs announced that they had officially renamed Arrowhead Stadium, GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs lost two of their longest tenured players in the offseason. Tackle Eric Fisher was released and fullback Anthony Sherman retired. Both players joined the Chiefs in 2013.
In the offseason, the Chiefs announced they would once again retire their live horse mascot Warpaint to continue with their commitment to stop using Native American imagery.
The Chiefs opened the season on September 12 with a 33–29 victory over the Cleveland Browns. The win was the Chiefs' 15th consecutive win in September. The Chiefs would lose their next two games to give them a 1–2 record after three games, which was their first losing record in 89 games, dating back to week 10 of the 2015 season. The Chiefs' 20–38 week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills, was the Chiefs' first double-digit loss in the regular season since 2017 and the Chiefs' first double-digit loss at home since 2014. In Week 7, the Chiefs lost 3–27 to the Tennessee Titans, which is the fewest points scored in a game since Patrick Mahomes became the quarterback. The Chiefs maintained a non-winning record until a week 9 victory over the Green Bay Packers. That 7-week stretch without a winning record was the Chiefs' longest stretch without a winning record since 2012 when they held a losing record the entire season. After starting the season 3–4, the Chiefs won their ninth game in week 14 over the Las Vegas Raiders clinching their ninth consecutive winning season, one short of the franchise record of 10. The 48–9 victory over the Raiders was the largest in franchise history over the Raiders and the largest victory against any opponent since the 2006 season. In week 16, following a 36–10 victory over the Steelers and a loss by the Chargers, the Chiefs clinched their sixth consecutive AFC West division championship and their franchise record seventh straight playoff berth. The Chiefs finished the regular season 12–5, their fourth consecutive 12-win season, all four since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback.
Kansas City defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 42–21 in the Wild Card round of the 2021–22 NFL playoffs. They would then host Buffalo in the Divisional round, winning that game 42–36 in overtime. This game was hailed as one of the greatest modern NFL playoff games, with both teams combining for 25 points in the final two minutes of regulation. The following week, despite being favored to win the AFC Championship game, the Chiefs would lose the game in an upset to the Bengals in overtime 24–27, a game in which they led 21–3 at one point in the second quarter.
NFL Top 100
NFL Network began announcing their annual top 100 list on August 15, 2021. Five Chiefs players were named to the list. Defensive end Frank Clark is the only player still on the roster that was ranked the previous season that went unranked for the 2021 season. Tight end Travis Kelce was ranked 5th, which is the highest ranking ever for a tight end in the history of the Top 100. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was ranked 1st on the list, which was the first time a Chiefs player was ranked the number one.
Rank Player Position Change 1 Patrick Mahomes Quarterback 3 5 Travis Kelce Tight end 13 15 Tyreek Hill Wide receiver 7 34 Chris Jones Defensive tackle 2 58 Tyrann Mathieu Safety 19
Offseason Transactions listed below occurred between the day after Super Bowl LV, February 8, and August 14, the day of the Chiefs first preseason game.
Source unless otherwise noted
Coaching staff changes 2021 Kansas City Chiefs Coaching staff changes Old coach Reason Position New coach Deland McCullough Accepted job at Indiana Running backs coach Greg Lewis Britt Reid Contract expired,not re-signed fordisciplinary reasons Linebackers/outsidelinebackers coach Ken Flajole Greg Lewis Title change toRunning backs coach Wide receivers Joe Bleymaier Joe Bleymaier Title change toWide receivers coach Pass game analyst /assistant quarterbacks David Girardi David Girardi Title change toPass game analyst /Assistant quarterbacks Offensive quality control Connor Embree Connor Embree Title change toOffensive quality control Defensive assistant Donald D'Alesio
Players lost Below are players who were on the roster at the end of the 2020 season, but were either released or did not re-sign after their contract expired. If a player resigns during the offseason, their name will be removed from the list.
2021 Kansas City Chiefs Players lost Player Position Reason Le'Veon Bell RB Bashaud Breeland CB UFA Alex Brown CB Eric Fisher T Released Antonio Hamilton CB UFA Tanoh Kpassagnon DE UFA Kelechi Osemele G UFA Mike Pennel DT UFA Martinas Rankin T Released Austin Reiter C UFA Mitchell Schwartz T Released Sammy Watkins WR UFA Damien Williams RB Released Damien Wilson LB UFA Deon Yelder TE
Retirements Players that were on the Chiefs roster at the end of the season who announced their retirement before the preseason are listed below, even if their contract with the Chiefs had officially expired prior to their announcement.
2021 Kansas City Chiefs Retirements Player Position NFL seasons Seasons with the Chiefs Anthony Sherman FB 10 8 Nick Keizer TE 4 2 Daniel Kilgore C 10 1
Players added 2021 Kansas City Chiefs Additions Player Position Kyle Long G Joe Thuney G Blake Bell TE Anthony Gordon QB Jordan Ta'amu QB Gehrig Dieter* WR Dalton Schoen WR Chad Williams WR Antonio Callaway WR Jody Fortson* TE Maurice Ffrench* WR Derrick Gore RB Sean Culkin TE Evan Baylis* TE Prince Tega Wanogho T Bryan Witzmann* T Darryl Williams* G Tyler Clark DT Demone Harris* DE Austin Edwards* DE Omari Cobb* LB Emmanuel Smith* LB Deandre Baker* CB Rodney Clemons S Jarran Reed DT Elijah McGuire RB Michael Burton FB Austin Blythe C Tajae Sharpe WR Kamalei Correa LB Daurice Fountain WR Darrius Shepherd WR
Trades Listed below are trades were a player was included in the trade. 2021 Kansas City Chiefs Trades Team Received Compensation Baltimore Ravens T Orlando Brown Jr.2nd-round selection 20216th-round selection 2022 1st-round selection 20213rd-round selection 20214th-round selection 20215th-round selection 2022 Minnesota Vikings CB Mike Hughes7th-round selection 2022 6th-round selection 2022
Draft
2021 Kansas City Chiefs Draft Round Selection Player Position College2 58 Nick Bolton Linebacker Missouri63 Creed Humphrey Center Oklahoma 4 144* Joshua Kaindoh Defensive end Florida State 5 162 Noah Gray Tight end Duke 181* Cornell Powell Wide receiver Clemson 6 226 Trey Smith Guard Tennessee * Compensatory selection Trades The Chiefs traded a sixth-round selection (213th overall) in the 2021 draft to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 2020 NFL draft. The Chiefs received a sixth-round selection (207th overall) in the 2021 draft from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a seventh-round selection (258th overall) in the 2021 draft and running back DeAndre Washington. The Chiefs traded their first-round selection (31st overall), third-round selection (94th overall), fourth-round selection (136th overall) in the 2021 draft, and a fifth-round selection in the 2022 NFL draft to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., a second-round selection (58th overall) in the 2021 draft, and a sixth-round selection in the 2022 NFL draft. The Chiefs traded their fourth-round selection (175th overall) and their sixth-round selection (207th overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for the Jets fourth-round selection (162nd overall) and a sixth-round selection (226th overall).
Undrafted free agents 2021 Kansas City Chiefs UDFAs Player Position College Zayne Anderson S BYU Dicaprio Bootle CB Nebraska Shane Buechele QB SMU Marlon Character CB Louisville Riley Cole LB South Alabama Malik Herring DE Georgia Devon Key S Western Kentucky Jaylon McClain-Sapp CB Marshall Manny Patterson CB Maine
Signed and released in the offseason Below are players who were signed and released in the offseason before playing for the team.
2021 Kansas City Chiefs Signed and released Player Position Sean Culkin TE Jordan Ta'amu QB Tajae Sharpe WR Jaylon McClain-Sapp CB Kamalei Correa LB Drew Scott LS
Preseason transactions Transactions listed below, occurred between August 15, the day after the Chiefs first preseason game, and September 12, the day of the Chiefs first regular season game.
Source for all transactions
Cut to 85 The first preseason roster cutdown occurred on August 17. In addition the transactions below, the Chiefs placed running back Elijah McGuire on injured reserve.
2021 Kansas City Chiefs Cut to 85 Name Position Evan Baylis TE Antonio Callaway WR Manny Patterson CB Chad Williams WR
Cut to 80 The second preseason cutdown occurred on August 24. The Chiefs released or waived five players and did not use reserve lists to make the 80 player limit.
2021 Kansas City Chiefs Cut to 80 Name Position Taco Charlton DE Will Parks CB Bryan Witzmann G Riley Cole LB Anthony Gordon QB
Final cutdown The third and final preseason cutdown occurred on August 31. In addition to the transactions below, the Chiefs traded a player, placed Kyle Long on the physically unable to perform list, and placed Malik Herring on the reserve/non-football injury list.
2021 Kansas City Chiefs Final Cutdown Name Position Zayne Anderson S Dicaprio Bootle CB Shane Buechele QB Marlon Character CB Tyler Clark DT Rodney Clemons S Omari Cobb LB Austin Edwards DE Maurice Ffrench WR Derrick Gore RB Demone Harris DE Marcus Kemp WR Devon Key S BoPete Keyes CB Wyatt Miller OT Cornell Powell WR Dalton Schoen WR Darrius Shepherd WR Emmanuel Smith LB Darwin Thompson RB Prince Tega Wanogho OT Tim Ward DE Darryl Williams C
Trades Listed below are trades were a player was included in the trade. 2021 Kansas City Chiefs Trades Team Received Compensation New England Patriots 7th round selection2022 NFL draft Yasir Durant
Signings 2021 Kansas City Chiefs Signings Name Position Marcus Kemp* WR
Regular season transactions Below are transactions that occurred after the Chiefs first game through their final game. Transactions below are only transactions related to the Chiefs active roster. Practice squad transactions will not be included.
Source for transactions through December 31
Source for transactions after January 1
Standard elevations Standard practice squad elevations allow a player to elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for a single game and revert to the practice squad following the game. Below are standard elevations used by the Chiefs during the season.