What it comes down to, is the abilities of the players lost vs. the abilities of the player gained. Since so many of the players coming in are young, it makes Chiefs players with experience the locker room leaders.
TE Anthony Fasano told the KC Star on Monday that the loss of Tony Moeaki has placed him a mentor mode more than he might have been otherwise.
"I definitely have to be a leader in that (tight ends meeting) room. That’s one of the biggest hats I’m going to have to wear. ~Anthony Fasano"
Chiefs players remaining on the roster who’ve been trying to win a championship see the new personnel additions as major upgrades towards that end.
Some decisions may have been made based upon health. It’s difficult for coaches and GMs alike to play a waiting game with players who are constantly needing time to heal and of course when they are unavailable… it’s also costly.
R&D (Reid and Dorsey) decided that players like:
"CB Marcus Cooper had more upside than Jalil Brown. TE Sean McGrath could develop & contribute faster than Tony Moeaki. Jaye Howard could use his hand skills to break double-teams when Jerrell Powe was unable to. 3rd year player Ron Parker had more upside as a DB than Bradley McDougald. Andy Reid was more comfortable with what WR/KR Chad Hall brought to the table than Devon Wylie. And James-Michael Johnson and Dezman Moses brought more value to the LB position than Zac Diles."
Plus, when you look specifically to the teams that these players came from, there are many others that came here recently that they will already know and be familiar with which helps with the transition process:
49ers- Alex Smith, A.J. Jenkins, Marcus Cooper, Chad Hall (Andy Reid, Akeem Jordan and Quintin Demps while in Philly).
Packers- Dezman Moses, Frank Zombo, Anthony Toribio (although they weren’t there at the same time), and John Dorsey.
On Monday, Dezman Moses spoke of his connection to John Dorsey in the K.C. Star,
"I was hoping, I spoke with John Dorsey throughout last year. He gave me an opportunity there, and I’m very excited he gave me another opportunity here."
Seahawks- Jaye Howard, Sean McGrath, Ron Parker and Rishaw Johnson.
Dolphins- Sean Smith and Anthony Fasano.
Texans- Quintin Demps and Dunta Robinson both spent time in Houston.
California University of Pennsylvania- Eric Kush and Rishaw Johnson.