Only one year into a three-year deal, Gabe Davis found himself released on Wednesday from the Jacksonville Jaguars organization.
While Davis is likely to find quick work with another team in free agency, the perils of multi-year deals for wide receivers have yet another example to look to—proving the Kansas City Chiefs have fostered a correct approach to the market.
The Chiefs have taken a cautious approach in free agency regarding the wide receiver position in recent years. And, once again, the NFL's transaction wire has backed the Chiefs' decision-making process with another high-cost bust.
The Gabe Davis example
The Jaguars signed Gabe Davis last spring to a three-year deal worth up to $39 million as part of an offensive overhaul intended to provide quarterback Trevor Lawrence with a greater array of weapons. The team also signed former Chiefs center Mitch Morse to anchor the offensive front and drafted Brian Thomas Jr. as part of the strategy to bolster the offense.
Davis responded with a career-worst season by any measure. Even though injuries limited him to 10 games, he still caught only 20 catches for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even if you doubled those totals, he'd still be far below any previous lows in yardage and touchdowns.
Given the lack of synergy in the offense and the cost involved, the Jags were fine with scrapping the plan under a new regime, discarding yet another Trent Baalke mistake back onto the open market.
The JuJu Smith-Schuster example
The Chiefs' behavior suggests their approach to free-agent wideouts has always been under the banner of "Buyer Beware".
General manager Brett Veach signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a single-season deal in 2022 and reaped the rewards in a Super Bowl-winning season in which the former Steelers draft choice led all wideouts in receiving yards with 933.
The following offseason, in the spring of 2023, the New England Patriots signed Smith-Schuster away from the Chiefs on a three-year deal worth up to $33 million. That lasted just over a single season until the Pats tossed him aside as well after an injury-plagued year robbed him of any real impact. Sound familiar?
The Chiefs then found themselves re-signing Smith-Schuster for pennies on the dollar to play a possession receiver role at an injury-decimated position last season.
Prove-it deals are the norm
Instead of turning to a free agent from another team to solve their issues, Veach has slowly and steadily rebuilt the wide receiver room with draft choices that provide the team cost-controlled talent with a much higher ceiling.
The risk is still there for the Chiefs in this approach, given that early investments like Skyy Moore (2022) have not worked out as hoped. However, the choices of Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy have proven the model and the hope is that this year's draft selection of Jalen Royals will join them as success stories.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have turned to one-year deals in free agency to further complement the wide receiver room to mixed results. Hollywood Brown has signed successive prove-it deals with the Chiefs in 2024 and 2025, and the fact that he missed nearly the entire season last year with the Chiefs shows why Veach was hesitant to offer any more security than he did.
The truth is that free agents are available for a reason. When the team that drafted a player refuses to offer a second contract, the reasoning behind it is usually obvious. Sometimes there are exceptions, but one team's trash isn't always another team's treasure. And to commit multiple seasons and tens of millions to one at the wide receiver position doesn't seem to pay off in most instances.
Just ask Gabe Davis.
