Debbie Downer Says, “The Chiefs Need More Money!”

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

It always comes down to money and the Kansas City Chiefs don’t have any. The Chiefs current cap space, according to overthecap.com, sits at $2.48 million. He expects the 2014 cap space to be only a measly $799,944. That is not enough to fill the Chiefs needs in free agency, and sign a bunch of much-needed draft picks in year two of the Reid and Dorsey regime. The main issues lie with player contracts costing the Chiefs huge hits against their cap number. Five out of twelve of these guys are, or were, starters at some point in the 2013 NFL season. Chiefs fans, you need to realize that sometimes in order to win, decisions need to be made. These decisions could severely impact the 2014 season. The moves that I believe should be made are necessary to give the Chiefs the money they need to improve. However, it will mean losing some key players that have made large impacts for this team.

You had to know where this was going. The Chiefs made their No. 1 overall pick Eric Fisher. Both he and incumbent left tackle Branden Albert had injury issues forcing Donald Stephenson to fill that hole, which he did in a big way. I am more than confident Stephenson can play either the left or right tackle position at a very high level. This means the  Chiefs need to part ways with their pro bowl tackle Branden Albert. Albert was franchise tagged by the Chiefs this year and cost them nearly a $10 million cap hit. This is just something we, as Chiefs fans, need to accept. Albert needs to go in order to make room for the future. He needs to go. I’m pleased with what he brought us, but sorry guys, we need the money.

After Albert, there are more obvious choices of who should go. Corner back Dunta Robinson and safety Kendrick Lewis are my biggest grievances. Luckily, Kendrick isn’t even a thought. He’s gone and I say good riddance. Robinson is a guy the Chiefs invested quite a bit of money on. According to Rotoworld.com’s player contract information, Robinson is due a little over three million dollars this year. For the awfulness that was Dunta Robinsons’ efforts he does not deserve that amount of money. AA Senior Staff Writer Lyle Graverson, talks about how the Chiefs would save $3.3 million by cutting him.

Brandon Flowers should have three options in order to remain with the Chiefs. He either needs to take a pay cut, completely restructure his existing contract, or the Chiefs should look to move him via trade. He somehow was named to the pro bowl which, based on his 2010, 2011, and 2012 campaigns would’ve been great, but this year he had no business being there. I wasn’t sure what the ramifications of cutting Flowers outright would be so I tweeted out the question and former Chief Bill Maas and our very own Lyle Graverson had this to say:

I agree with Lyle. The Chiefs need to work on restructuring Flowers, but he’s not the only one that needs to be restructured. My personal opinion on Pioli is that he was a great GM that made two poor decisions and refused to do anything about them. The two decisions being Cassel and Haley. I digress. I think the Chiefs should trade Flowers and look to Marcus Cooper. The rookie showed flashes of greatness in weeks one through nine and is only being paid a measly $645k in 2014. It’s time to close the book on Flowers, as much as I hate to say it. He is more of a liability than an asset at this point.

I’ve talked about some of the guys the Chiefs need to cut, trade, let walk, or restructure. What about the guys they need to re-sign? On the top of this list for me is guard Geoff Schwartz. He proved this season he was the guy who should be starting, not Jon Asamoah who I think will end up being a cap casualty. Asamoah is a starting caliber guard, but with the way Schwartz played it would be better to let the former third-round pick from Illinois walk.

Tyson Jackson will be a free agent. He also, as a five-technique defensive end in a 3-4 system had five sacks and showed excellent progress this year. He also took a huge pay cut which I was extremely pleased with. He needs to be brought back into this system. He, defensive tackle Dontari Poe, and defensive end Mike DeVito seemed to have things under control in most games. I think that defensive line unit should be kept together. However, Reid and Dorsey may decide that they want to draft an end who can rush the passer better and let Jackson go. In any case, the Chiefs need a defensive line who can get a better pass rush.

Face it Addicts, the Chiefs need money, and they need it now. Get on board or get ready for another awful season. This season, the Chiefs do not have the luxury of playing the NFC East and the AFC South. They need money to sign their draft picks and sign free agents to fill in the holes in their miserable secondary and wide receiver corps. Key players will need to restructure their contracts and certain guys need to be cut or let walk.

Remember Addicts, it’s time to get real, not drink the Kool-Aid.