The 2022 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 53rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 63rd overall, their 10th under head coach Andy Reid, and their sixth under general manager Brett Veach. The Chiefs finished the regular season 14–3, improving their win total from the previous season and matching the franchise record for wins.
In the offseason, the Chiefs traded wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. Hill had been with the Chiefs since 2016. The Chiefs wore a decal with the number 16 on their helmets for the entire season in honor of former Chiefs quarterback and Super Bowl IV MVP Len Dawson, who died on August 24, and wore 16 his entire tenure with the Chiefs. Before the Chiefs first offensive play of the preseason game the following day, the Chiefs lined in a huddle popularized by Dawson where the quarterback stands in front of all other 10 offensive players instead of the quarterback standing in the middle with the players making a circle around him.
After their ninth victory in Week 12 over the Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs clinched their tenth consecutive winning season, a franchise record. With a Week 15 win over the Houston Texans, they won the AFC West for the seventh consecutive year and fifteenth overall. It also was the Chiefs' franchise-record-extending eighth straight year making the playoffs. With a Week 18 win against the Raiders, and the Bills–Bengals game in Week 17 declared no contest, the Chiefs clinched the top seed in the AFC, but they did not clinch home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs after the Bills beat the New England Patriots in their final game. The Chiefs hosted their fifth consecutive AFC Championship Game after the Bengals beat the Bills 27–10, where they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20. In Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35. It was the Chiefs' third Super Bowl appearance and second win in four years.
This was Kansas City's fifth Super Bowl, following wins in Super Bowls IV and LIV and losses in Super Bowls I and LV. Prior to the Super Bowl era, the Chiefs won the American Football League championship in 1962.
The Super Bowl was the final for Norma Hunt, the widow of the Chiefs' founder, Lamar Hunt, who died in June 2023. She was a member (and the only woman) of the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club. She was a minority owner of the Chiefs at the time of her death.
NFL Top 100
The Chiefs only had three players ranked in the 2022 Top 100 players, their lowest number of selections since 2018. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was once again the highest ranked player for the Chiefs on the countdown despite dropping 7 places in the rankings.
Rank Player Position Change 8 Patrick Mahomes Quarterback 7 10 Travis Kelce Tight end 5 39 Chris Jones Defensive tackle 5
Offseason All transactions in this section occurred between the end of the 2021 season (excluding futures contracts which began to be signed following the conclusion of the regular season) and the Chiefs first preseason game.
Coaching staff changes 2022 Kansas City Chiefs Coaching staff changes Old coach Reason Position New coach Matt House Hired by LSU Linebackers Brendan Daly Brendan Daly Title change Defensive line coach Joe Cullen Mike Kafka Hired by New York Giants Quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy Sam Madison Hired by Miami Dolphins Secondary/cornerbacks N/A* Donald D'Alesio Title change Defensive assistant N/A* N/A† Position created Safeties coach Donald D'Alesio
Players lost Below are players who were on the roster at the end of the 2021 season, but were either released or did not re-sign after their contract expired.
2022 Kansas City Chiefs Players lost Player Position Reason Deandre Baker CB Released Austin Blythe G Anthony Hitchens LB Released Mike Hughes CB UFA Melvin Ingram DE UFA Marcus Kemp WR UFA Kyle Long G UFA Tyrann Mathieu S UFA Ben Niemann LB UFA Dorian O'Daniel LB UFA Alex Okafor DE UFA Byron Pringle WR UFA Jarran Reed DT UFA Mike Remmers T UFA Demarcus Robinson WR UFA Daniel Sorensen S UFA Charvarius Ward CB UFA Armani Watts S UFA Darrel Williams RB UFA
Futures contracts Players signed to futures contracts typically spent most, if not all, if the 2021 season on the Chiefs or another team's practice squad. These contracts are signed after the conclusion of the regular season through the beginning the next league year.
2022 Kansas City Chiefs Futures contracts Player Position Omar Bayless WR Dicaprio Bootle CB Cortez Broughton DT Matt Bushman TE Shilique Calhoun LB Brandin Dandridge CB Gehrig Dieter WR Austin Edwards DE Chris Finke WR Daurice Fountain WR Jordan Franks TE Josh Gordon WR Darius Harris LB Gary Jennings Jr. WR Roderick Johnson T Devon Key SS Brenden Knox RB Lorenzo Neal DT Josh Pederson TE Cornell Powell WR Mathew Sexton WR Darius Stills DT Mark Vital TE Darryl Williams C
Players added Players below played for another team in 2021 and signed with the Chiefs.
2022 Kansas City Chiefs Additions Player Position Luq Barcoo CB Deon Bush S Jermaine Carter LB Geron Christian T Corey Coleman WR Matt Dickerson DE Carlos Dunlap DE Anthony Gordon QB Devin Gray WR Ronald Jones II RB Azur Kamara LB Evin Ksiezarczyk T Elijah Lee LB Justin Reid S Austin Reiter C JuJu Smith-Schuster WR Taylor Stallworth DT David Steinmetz T Marquez Valdes-Scantling WR
Trades Listed below are trades were a player was included in the trade. 2022 Kansas City Chiefs Trades Team Received Compensation Miami Dolphins 1st round selection 2022 draft2nd round selection 2022 draft4th round selection 2022 draft4th round selection 2023 draft6th round selection 2023 draft WR Tyreek Hill Houston Texans CB Lonnie Johnson Jr. 7th round selection 2023 draft
Draft
2022 Kansas City Chiefs DraftRound Selection Player Position College Notes 1 21 Trent McDuffie Cornerback Washington from New England 29 Traded to New England from San Francisco via Miami 30 George Karlaftis Defensive end Purdue 2 50 Traded to New England from Miami 54 Skyy Moore Wide receiver Western Michigan from New England 62 Bryan Cook Safety Cincinnati 3 94 Traded to New England 103 Leo Chenal Linebacker Wisconsin 2020 Resolution JC-2A selection 4 121 Traded to New England from Miami 135 Joshua Williams Cornerback Fayetteville State 5 145 Darian Kinnard Offensive tackle Kentucky from Detroit via Denver and Seattle 158 Traded to Seattle from Miami via New England 173 Traded to Baltimore 6 191 Traded to Minnesota from Baltimore 208 Traded to Pittsburgh 7 233 Traded to Seattle from Minnesota 243 Jaylen Watson Cornerback Washington State from Las Vegas via New England 251 Isiah Pacheco Running back Rutgers 259 Nazeeh Johnson Safety Marshall Compensatory pick Draft trades
Undrafted free agents + 2022 Kansas City Chiefs undrafted free agents Name Position College Mike Caliendo Guard Western Michigan Jack Cochrane Linebacker South Dakota Dustin Crum Quarterback Kent State Jerrion Ealy Running back Ole Miss Tayon Fleet-Davis Running back Maryland Chris Glaser Offensive lineman Virginia Nasir GreerSafety Wake Forest Kehinde Oginni Hassan Tight end Gene Pryor Tackle Hawaii Mike Rose Linebacker Iowa State Justyn Ross Wide receiver Clemson
Signed and released in the offseason Players listed below were signed and released in the offseason before playing for the team.
+ 2022 Kansas City Chiefs signed & released Name Position Luq Barcoo CB Shilique Calhoun LB Gehrig Dieter* WR Chris Finke WR Anthony Gordon QB Nakia Griffin-Stewart TE Brenden Knox RB Lorenzo Neal DT Josh Pederson TE Gene Pryor T Matthew Sexton WR Darius Stills DT Mark Vital TE Jonathan Woodard DE
Preseason transactions All transactions below occurred in between the Chiefs first preseason game on August 13 and their first regular season game on September 11.
Signings + 2022 Kansas City Chiefs Signings Name Position Danny Shelton DT
Cuts The Chiefs made their first set of roster cut downs on August 16. They made another three cuts on August 23, they also placed two on reserve lists. Their final roster cut, which will be 27 cuts, will occur by August 30. The Chiefs also placed players on reserve lists to meet the roster requirements.
Down to 85 + 2022 Kansas City Chiefs Cut to 85 Name Position Omar Bayless WR Austin Edwards DE Devin Gray WR Gary Jennings Jr. WR Lonnie Johnson Jr. CB Evin Ksiezarczyk T
Down to 80 + 2022 Kansas City Chiefs Cut to 80 Name Position Brandin Dandridge CB Derrick Gore RB Nasir Greer S David Steinmetz T
Down to 53 + 2022 Kansas City Chiefs Cut to 53 Name Position Zayne Anderson S Matt Bushman TE Dicaprio Bootle CB Mike Caliendo G Jermaine Carter LB Jack Cochrane LB Corey Coleman WR Dustin Crum QB Matt Dickerson DT Jerrion Ealy RB Tayon Fleet-Davis RB Daurice Fountain WR Jordan Franks TE Josh Gordon WR Vitaliy Gurman T Nazeeh Johnson S Roderick Johnson T Azur Kamara DE Devon Key S Elijah Lee LB Kehinde Oginni DE Aaron Parker WR Cornell Powell WR Austin Reiter C Mike Rose LB Danny Shelton DT Taylor Stallworth DT
Regular season transactions Transactions below occurred after the Chiefs first game on September 11 and through their final game, which includes the playoffs.
Standard elevations Players listed below were elevated using a standard elevation, which allows the Chiefs to add someone to the active roster from the practice squad then move back to the practice squad without needing to clear waivers first. This can only be used a maximum of 3 times per player.
+ 2022 Kansas City Chiefs Practice squad elevations Name Position Week(s) used Daurice Fountain* WR 1 Elijah Lee LB 1, 4, 5 Matt Ammendola* K 2, 3 Dicaprio Bootle CB 2, 3, 7 Matthew Wright K 4, 5, 18 Zayne Anderson S 6, 12, 13 Cole Christiansen LB 6 Marcus Kemp WR 7, 11, , , Ugo Amadi S 10 Cornell Powell WR 11, 12, 13 Ihmir Smith-Marsette WR 14, 18, AC Danny Shelton DT 16 Austin Reiter G DR, SB
Signings + 2022 Kansas City Chiefs signings Name Position Dicaprio Bootle* CB Jack Cochrane* LB Nazeeh Johnson* CB Elijah Lee* LB Taylor Stallworth* DT Benton Whitley† LB Brandon Williams* DT
Suspensions served + 2022 Kansas City Chiefs suspensions Name Position Policy violated Weeksserved Willie Gay LB Personal conduct 3–6 Frank Clark DE Personal conduct 9–10
Cuts + 2022 Kansas City Chiefs cuts Name Position Dicaprio Bootle CB Geron Christian T Chris Lammons CBElijah Lee LB Taylor Stallworth DT Benton Whitley DE
Trades Listed below are trades were a player was included in the trade. 2022 Kansas City Chiefs Trades Team Received Compensation New York Giants WR Kadarius Toney 3rd round selection 2023 draft6th round selection 2023 draft Atlanta Falcons 7th round selection 2023 draft CB Rashad Fenton
IR activations Players listed below spent a portion of the season on injured reserve and were activated. 2022 Kansas City Chiefs IR activations Position Player Datedadded Dateactivated CB Trent McDuffie September 13 November 1 T Lucas Niang August 23 (PUP) November 23 TE Blake Bell September 5 December 23 WR Mecole Hardman November 17 January 4* TE Jody Fortson December 23 January 28 RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire November 23 February 6
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Chicago Bears L 14–19 0–1 Soldier Field Recap 2 Washington Commanders W 24–14 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 3 Green Bay Packers W 17–10 2–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
Game summaries
KSHB carried the preseason games in the Kansas City area. Other networks throughout the region, primarily in Missouri and Kansas, also carried the games. Broadcasters provided are the Chiefs' broadcast. The Chiefs opponents also had their own broadcast team.
Week 1: at Chicago Bears
Week 2: vs. Washington Commanders
Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers
Regular season Schedule