Kansas City Chiefs bring back two exclusive rights free agents, but one has a greater chance of sticking than the other
The Kansas City Chiefs brought back two of their Exclusive Rights Free Agents, but one feels like more of a lock than the other.
The Kansas City Chiefs have brought back two more of their own, and one may have a better shot of sticking around in 2026 than the other.
The Chiefs tendered contract offers to P Matt Araiza and WR Nikko Remigio, who both fell under the category of Exclusive Rights Free Agents. ERFAs are players who have yet to accrue three seasons in the NFL. Unlike Restricted Free Agents (RFAs), clubs hold exclusive negotiating rights with ERFAs. Once a player is tendered an offer, another team cannot swoop in and sign them to an offer sheet. If an ERFA is tendered a qualifying contract offer before free agency, that player cannot refuse that offer. That player can reach unrestricted free agency only if the team does not extend a qualifying offer
Both players will receive non-guaranteed one-year deals worth $1.075 million, meaning they can be cut at any time without salary cap ramifications. It’s a no-brainer move to bring both players back to the 90-man roster at this amount, but it also means neither is guaranteed a spot on the 53-man roster.
Chiefs P Matt Araiza might have a greater chance to stick around than WR Nikko Remigio
While neither player is guaranteed a spot, Araiza may have a better shot at sticking around than Remigio. Araiza finished his second year in Kansas City in 2025, showing marked improvement over the previous season.
“I think Matt Araiza’s having a really good year, probably his best year honestly,” Chiefs STC Dave Toub said in December.
His touchback percentage dropped from 14.5% to 5.4%, with the same number of punts landing inside the 20-yard line (25). He had fewer punting opportunities, yards per punt, and net yards per punt. It still feels like there’s some untapped potential and room for improvement here. Bringing him back feels like a continued investment in his development.
As for Remigio, his 2026 NFL season was technically a career year with 14 games played, 25 punts returned for 191 yards, and 29 kicks returned for 741 yards. It also felt like a step back in terms of impact plays, even though the volume of plays on special teams was up. It was far-and-away from what he showed he was capable of during the postseason in 2024-2025. Despite plenty of injury opportunities, early and late in the season, Remigio also didn’t get much run on offense.
Both players could see competition during training camp, but Remigio feels at greater risk of falling off right now than Araiza. He gives the team a floor at the kick and punt returner position, but they should still seek to find the ceiling after a disappointing 2025 season on special teams all around.
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