The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off their second consecutive Super Bowl win, but former San Diego Chargers standout Shawne Merriman believes Los Angeles has a shot at winning the division next season.
Kansas City Chiefs News Today
After a sales tax in Jackson County, Mo., was shot down by voters earlier this week, the Chiefs and the MLB’s Kansas City Royals have to look elsewhere for financial aid. The tax would have helped pay for major renovations inside Arrowhead Stadium, along with a new downtown stadium for the Royals.
Why Shawne Merriman Believes the Los Angeles Chargers Could Overtake Chiefs
Futures odds suggest the Chiefs are overwhelming favorites (-225) to win their ninth straight AFC West title in 2024.
But the defending champions have never had to deal with a Chargers team coached by Jim Harbaugh. That’s why former Chargers standout Merriman believes the division could have a shocking champion in 2024.
Merriman told PFN this week that the Chargers missing the playoffs last year with that collection of players “didn’t make any sense.”
“There’s no rebuilding,” Merriman said. “We’re not talking about them being good two, three years down the road. They got an opportunity this season to turn that thing around and come out of that division on top.”
LISTEN: PFN Inside Access — Shawne Merriman Interview
Mayor Eric Johnson Thinks Chiefs Should Return to Dallas
Dallas mayor Eric Johnson is publicly supporting a return to Dallas for the Chiefs after a sales tax in Jackson County was shot down by voters earlier this week.
Johnson lobbied for the Chiefs to return to Dallas, which is where the franchise was founded in 1960 before moving to Kansas City in 1963.
“Dallas was named the top sports city in the United States because we play to win,” Johnson told The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday. “As I have said previously, our market is big enough, growing enough, and loves football more than enough to support a second NFL team — especially a franchise (and an owner) with deep roots here.”
The future of the Chiefs in Kansas City isn’t immediately clear. Representatives for the NFL team said before the vote they have considered moving out of Jackson County when their stadium lease expires in 2031 and relocating to the Kansas side of the metro area, according to The Kansas City Star.
READ MORE: Dallas Mayor Makes Pitch for Chiefs’ Return to Texas
Carson Wentz Ready To Make Most of ‘Good Fit’ With Chiefs in 2024
The Chiefs recently picked up a new backup quarterback in Carson Wentz. The veteran signal-caller, a 2016 second-overall pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, is embracing this era of his career and was welcomed to Kansas City on Thursday as he spoke to local media.
“Lots of unknowns about the future; I’ll take it one day at a time, first and foremost,” Wentz said. “Big intrigue to want to come here. Why I’m here today is just the winning culture.
“Seeing it from afar and seeing it from around the league the last couple of years, just the culture Coach [Andy] Reid has kind of set. You see it, and I’ve admired it for years. That was a big piece of the puzzle for me and the desire to be here on a winning team, in a good culture, in a good community with a good fanbase, it just seemed like a good fit.”
This will be the fifth team for Wentz in five years, dating back to his final season as the Eagles’ starter in 2020. Since then, Wentz has played for the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders, and Los Angeles Rams, and he’s now in Kansas City and set to play for Reid and back up Patrick Mahomes.
KEEP READING: Carson Wentz on Joining the Chiefs
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