Donnie Avery: What WR’s Reported Release Means For The Kansas City Chiefs
By Brett Gering
Sep 14, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Donnie Avery (17) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Donnie Avery, who played only 28 snaps after Week 4 of the 2014 season, is expected to be released by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Source: #Chiefs are cutting veteran WR Donnie Avery, which saves them $3.4M against the cap. Expected to target that position this week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 17, 2015
Obviously, the news comes as no surprise. For the most part, John Dorsey’s laundry list of transactions has been commendable, but Avery’s signing was one of the exceptions.
Throughout his two seasons with the Chiefs, the six-year veteran participated in 22 games (started in 17); reeling in 55 receptions for 722 yards and two touchdowns. However, his skill set never managed to mesh with Andy Reid’s offense.
Avery, at the end of the day, is an average route-runner with inconsistent hands. Prior to arriving in Kansas City, his 12 drops tied for fourth-most in the league in 2012—a year in which he caught only 53.6 percent of targets. Furthermore, the one facet that the straight-line speedster excels in—the deep ball—hasn’t played a prominent role in a Chiefs offense since the Nixon administration.
If (and when) the team parts ways with Avery, the move will, per Over the Cap (OTC), generate $3.4 million in cap space, which is a small step in the right direction.
Based on OTC’s projections (which include a conservative $142 million-plus cap ceiling), the Chiefs would hypothetically be $1.5 million-plus over the cap right now. However, Avery’s potential release would put the club back in the clear, granting Kansas City over $1.3 million in cap room.
Considering that Dorsey still needs to re-sign Justin Houston (franchise tag or otherwise) and Rodney Hudson, and free agency and the draft are right around the corner, Avery’s departure is bound to snowball into a wave of Kansas City cuts.
Nine years later, the Chiefs are still looking Dwayne Bowe’s sidekick.
Statistics provided by Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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