Using this Kansas City Star column as a reference, I delved further into our salary cap situation and crunched some numbers. The results were interesting, to say the least. The Chiefs will have approximately $26.6 million to spend after the following probable moves:
- Cut Chris Bober, Eddie Kennison, Greg Wesley, Jason Dunn, Kendrell Bell and Ty Law.
- Franchise Jared Allen.
- Priest Holmes officially retires.
Now, I’m guessing we’re going to resign both Dustin Colquitt and Jimmy Wilkerson, so there goes at least $2 million. We also might not cut all the players I listed above. Even considering those possibilities, we are going to have at least $20 million to spend. That’s also not including the possibility that Pat Surtain might have to restructure his mammoth deal to stick around, and could also become a cap casualty should he refuse to do so.
All that being said, who should we push for the Chiefs to bring in? In the recent past, the coalition of the local media and Chiefs nation have helped push the Chiefs into bringing in guys like Donnie Edwards, Law and Surtain. Who’s at the top of our list this year?
Loading ...We will be featuring your choices in upcoming posts along with your comments, so be sure to comment on why you picked the three players you did. We will run full-fledged campaigns complete with images and all the bells and whistles. Let’s start applying pressure for the Chiefs to actually use that large chunk of salary cap change they have to spend.
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My three are Asomugha (hard to spell), Lilja, and Stallworth. Asomugha-Underrated(compared to the high priced Asante Samuel) and will go for a lower amount. Also, hurts a divison rival, two birds with one stone.Lilja-Great interior guy to go with the revamping of our O-Line. With a solid guard like him, Waters at center, and Jake Long on the outside, I smell another Pro Bowl season for LJ.Stallworth-Deep threat to complement DBowe and another target for Croyle, also underrated as a possession receiver, we should definitely use him in the screen game. Also, not as pricy as high profile receivers like Larry Fitzgerald.
Looks like Donte’ Stallworth is the early hit. We’ll see if that trend continues…
Might as well take Lilja off, he signed back with Indy. Damn
I don’t think Asomugha is an option. He’s 6′2" and thats typically too tall according to Herm and Gun, but who knows.
I just voted Trufant, Bryant Johnson, and Faneca…..I figure that the Chiefs will sign "1" high priced free agent and the rest will be on the "lesser" level……with that in mind I think we should put the most eggs in the basket on the O-line………Get Faneca, Get Faneca, Get Faneca!!!……after that I believe that getting stallworth is out so my next choice would be Johnson from (AZ)…..he is way underrated and Larry Fitz will get most of the publ this offseason driving Johnsons price down….I put on trufant just because if the price is right I would love to have him as a Chief
What’s the status on Locklear, Wharton, and Jake Scott? Have they all signed?
Has Rex Hadnot resigned with the Fins?
I picked Lilja, Gross, and Asomugha. Then I did some research after the poster above noted that Lilja was re-signed. Gross was hit with the franchise tage yesterday and by all accounts the Raiders are expected to tag Asomugha with it by Thursday. If I could re-vote I would go with Trufant, Starks, and Bryant Johnson. Trufant is the big money, Starks is middle of the road money, and Bryant Johnson should be willing to sign for less money than most of the receivers of this group since his body of work is less because of playing behind two talented receivers. That way we don’t go spending all of our cap money on three players in the offseason and hoping that they all turn out great. We would still be a relatively young team and position ourselves for another free agent in the next offseason. Unlike a couple offseasons ago when we got Knight, Bell, and Surtain and then we couldn’t afford any free agents other than Ty Law the next season. If we are smart and start building a team instead of thinking a couple of star players will make everything ok, we could make a playoff run sooner than expected. I also think that if we sign Stallworth it should be a short, incentive laden contract. When he was with the Saints and had a contract locked up he didn’t play very hard. But when he signed a one-year deal with the Eagles and then the Patriots (it was essentially a one-year deal) he had to prove himself every week.
Wilford — big WR, has underachieved in Jacksonville. Would be a good compliment to Bowe.Williams OT — A little old (28) but has started at right tackle for several years, and can play guard. Not hyped like other players in FA.Florence — Can come in and compete for a starting job/play nickel. Lost his job to the best CB in the league right now (Cro is better than Bailey methinks). Also, the 3-4 puts him on an island in coverage a lot, which is why he struggled as a starter. The cover 2 ought to help him a lot.Those 3 are totally affordable with room to add rookies and marginal FA’s
I went with Briggs, Starks, and Carter. All are still relatively young and the latter 2 have a lot of untapped potential imo. If Hadnot is still on the market, I would make a play for him as well – he could provide needed depth at tackle and/or start at guard. I see Jake Scott as another good option at guard if he doesn’t resign with the Colts.
I went with Starks, Faneca, and Trufant….. I think Starks and Faneca could come in and take over that right side and our line would be great the possibility of signing both is low so Signing someone like JAke Scott or Lilja even though I think Lilja is a little small i think he could do okay, I would take any of the above mentioned corners but think that Trufant would be the best fit money wise and skill wise….I also would like to see Bryant Johnson in here too
You can take Lilja off the list. He has resigned with the Colts.
I say we plunder the JAGS: Maurice Williams (OT) and Ernest Wilford (WR) would be cheap solid additions to our run first offensive attack. we have to be realistic, and realistically these free agents are available to us. The other top names not so much. GO CHIEFS!
Why dont we bring in troubled wide receiver Antonio Bryant of 49ers DUI fame. He is talented but troubled.
I only included players that were UFAs and top-notch performers. Having covered the Dolphins in the past, I have never been too impressed with Rex Hadnot.
And Lilja has been removed from the poll, bumping Max Starks up as the top current lineman. I actually voted for Lilja, Trufant and Stallworth. I wonder if I’m being influenced by you guys, or vice versa? Or maybe Chiefs fans just know their football and think alike?
Not sure if someone already said it, but Jordan Gross got tagged.
Lilja got signed and is in my opinion to small
Trufant just was tagged
DT Corey Williams got tagged, the list is dwindling away…
Personally, I wonder why anybody in their right mind would prefer Bryant Johnson to any other WR on this list, but that’s just me, I guess.
And why all the Lance Briggs support? LB is an area of strength, not a need.
Asomugha got tagged. Raiders probably won’t draft Run DMC now. Can’t afford that luxury.
Adam, did you get to see what Herm said the other day. He is looking for a player who maybe isn’t a starter because he playbed behind a star, but is young and ready to make the leap. Insert Bryant Johnson. He is going to come relatively cheap and is the exact kind of guy who the Chiefs want.
As a fantasy football addict, I have seen way more of Bryant Johnson than I needed to. He’s just not that good, and wildly inconsistent even if he does have talent and ability. Honestly, I’d rather us go after D.J. Hackett, Drew Carter or Earnest Wilford. I also read where Herm said we have beer money and champagne wishes. That’s bullshit. We have $20 M to spend. Didn’t appreeciate that comment after the Chiefs raised ticket prices.
I voted Bryant (younger, plaed behind great starters, exactly the things Edwards mentioned in his most recent interview), Starks (young and huge, and while he got beat out for a starting job this year, could improve or be a solid back-up), and Briggs (because DJ should move back to weakside LB where he played in college, and will likely end up there when Donnie retires).
Nice post Adam – I agree completely………No more excuses!!!!!!!
Actually after Starks lost out at right tackle, he was later moved to left tackle, picked up his game and did very well down the stretch. Unfortunately, he tore up his knee late in the season and so his long term physical condition remains a question mark. The way I see it, if the Chiefs trainers and medical staff green light him, then he can probably be acquired for a fairly reasonable price.
As for Briggs, I feel the play of the current ILBs was pretty weak last year. At the outside, it’s pretty apparent that Edwards is also on the downhill side of his career. We need fresher legs, more talent, and more depth at linebacker. It makes sense to me to make Briggs the one high dollar acquisition because he would provide immediate help, leadership and long term stability.
In response to Adam’s opinion those who voted for Bryant Johnson "aren’t in their right mind" here are a few thoughts I had on why I chose him over the rest of the other receivers. Drew Carter is the only other receiver I even thought about so I can understand why he would be another option. He’s still young, supposedly a speed receiver but never had a consistent QB (Delhomme is streaky and/or injured). But the other receivers on this list have reasons why they are free agents. Hackett couldn’t beat out Bobby Engram who is 35. Wilford has been the #1 option in Jacksonville for 2 or 3 years and has averaged 40 receptions and 4 touchdowns, hardly anything worth getting excited about for a #1. Mushin is just as old as Eddie and we are trying to get younger. Jabar Gaffney has been a product of playing with Tom Brady. I would say the same for Stallworth, although he’s got the most talent of this group but he also would want the most money. With all those things considered you see Bryant Johnson who played behind two pro-bowl caliber receivers and still managed to post decent numbers (40 receptions per year 2 TDs per year) with the likes of Kurt Warner and Tim Rattay throwing to him this year, I would take my chances with him or Drew Carter (both at reasonable contracts) over the other WRs.
Adam/Zach/Stevenh: Love the Free Agency Countdown ticker. This site gets better and better. Good Work. I doubt we make any big moves in Free Agency though. By the way, sportingnews.com has CLady as the number one OT and has him being picked by St. Luois at number 2.
According the ESPN – the Steelers are putting a transition tag on Starks. They’ve tendered him just under 7 million for a one year deal.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3255502
Yeah, nice countdown thing.
I like the idea of Starks. We put him at LT and move mac to RT, that lessens the need of OT with our 1 pick. we could possible trade it or get Matt Ryan if he slips to us. Then still get a decent OT in rd 2.
Briggs is a good idea because he can play Strong Side LB, moving Donnie Edwards back into the middle, and DJ to the weakside. DJ is best at the weakside because of his athleticism, in addition, that’s where he played in college.
Troy, you are TOTALLY wrong about Hackett. He beat out both Engram and Burleson to start alongside Branch and then suffered a high ankle sprain in the first or second week. Those can pretty much claim your season. He played fine when he was healthy. And Bobby Engram had a helluva a season. He had more receptions than D-Bo or Tony G, I believe. Hackett would be a great option, better than Bryant "First Round Bust" Johnson.
And I think it’s time to "poison pill" the Steelers on Starks… http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3255502
POISON PILL, POISON PILL, POISON PILL, POISON PILL!
Ditto the pill for Starks.
Dovovan – Briggs at Sam LB sounds good and I love the thought of DJ on the weak side…my only concern would be Donnie at MLB – not that he couldn’t learn it, as he ’s probably the smartest guy ever to play pro football (he’s working on his Ph.D.) but that he would get injured trying to stuff the run in the middle – some pulling guard might smush him.
We can launch the poison pill campaign! But with these side effects you won’t just get an erection that lasts longer than four hours, blurry vision and the runs!
And Briggs is a waste of money. He is a top-tier FA at possibly our strongest position. Napoleon Harris is more than fine, esppecially with a year under his belt and better DT play. Donnie is also fine for now. We can draft another LB next year.
Adam, I’m sorry that I didn’t follow the Seahawks so much that I didn’t realize that he started week 1. I looked at the depth charts from ESPN.com and he was listed as the #2 split end under Burleson so I figured it was correct. Why would you poll readers for their opinions and then proceed to tell them that their opinion is wrong? I’m really not trying to be a jerk (easily done on the internet where you cannot understand how someone is saying something) but I was just wondering. Why not just write a post detailing the people you think the Chiefs should pursue in Free Agency?
Troy, we’re letting readers vote, but we never said we wouldn’t chime in with our $.02 in the comments. We always do. If I’ve been overly influentual, I’m sorry, but I want to make sure we send the right message out.
For instance, I’m biting my tongue on Faneca because I don’t think there is any way at his age and what he will commend contract-wise that we can get that done. Just trying to keep us both smart and realistic. Not that Bryant Johnsson would be bad — he could come in and be like Joe Horn when we let him go. I just prefer the other guys, but I definitely could be wrong.
WRs: #1 Dwayne Bowe #2 Donte Stallworth #3 Jeff Webb (or Sippio. Let them compete) -TE: Tony Gonzalez (duh) -RB: Larry Johnson -QB: Brodie Croyle -O line (possibilty): LT: Jake Long -LG: Brian Waters -C: Casey Weigman ( So what. He had a bad year. Give him a break ) -RG: Allen Faneca -RT: Max Starks. (I will be unbelievably happy if we sign Starks AND Faneca! It’ll be the best move in MY opinion)… I LOVE our Defense. We just need a couple tweaks here and there (CB, DT, and MLB) and we’ll be Top 5 in the league. I gaurantee it… Now… As fellow Chiefs fans… Tell me, can you really look at this lineup and say you wouldnt like this. Not only that, but whether its possible or not. (It is. Think about it.)
The Kansas City Star’s Sports ran an article on Jake Long this morning, http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/500133.html . I’m using it to promote the Max Starks campaign. I encourage like-minded souls to do the same.
Rather I should say I’m using the “comments” box which follows the article to do so. If this is what we want, then we need to use every venue available as a means of getting the idea into the public discourse.
I agree with Doube D! We gotta hype Max to the max!
Briggs, Faneca, Stallworth, not having to be in that order…to me Faneca is the most wanted here… yes we need a left tackle but to me we need another inside guy who knows how to open a lane… Waters and Wiegman were hurting inside by having to hold up virtually all alone, and helping the outside with their jobs… signing Faneca would allow us to take a third round or fourth round guard… and open the draft up. releasing wellborne also tells you that he will be looked at hard by the CHIEFS this year… as for bringing in a Left tackle, well the ones you have listed are both ten times better than BIG MAC…lol, but by no means should they sign one of those left tackle free agents and not draft ***CLADY***… the youth of claddy or even god forbid it…long, is so needed on the o-line… this year we could possably see the chiefs draft a tackle a guard and a third lineman, the third could be a guard, or tackle… and remember we have a couple long snappers in this years draft… a young kid with a great back wouldnt be a bad idea.
Briggs would be a tremendous aquisition, and we dont even have to explain why there… talk about stopping the run… my only problem with him would be could he cover… as with our cover two system would make him have to try and stay with tight ends quit often.
John… say what…lol you do remember that Donnie played inside here in KC!!!!!!! hahahahaha