The Chiefs problems pt 4: What are our options?

Blow it all up

The truth is that Clark Hunt may simply decide that this isn’t working and it is time to do something different.  This would likely take an epic failure this year that saw the Chiefs drafting very early in 2016.  If that is the case, Hunt could well be justified in sending everyone packing and allowing an all new staff to come in and do a complete rebuild on the roster.

It might be time for the Chiefs to take the approach of the Royals and simply start from scratch. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Should this option happen, every one of those aforementioned options comes into play and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see the Chiefs be very aggressive in each area.  But there are also a number of other big changes that could be coming, many of which Chiefs fans might not be too fond of.

1. Trading Alex Smith: Yeah, this would largely be a popular move.  Cutting Smith is not really an option in 2016 because of his contract structure, but a trade would give the Chiefs a lot of wiggle room in the salary cap.  We won’t get the pair of second round picks that we gave up for him, but Smith’s value would still be pretty decent to a team that needs a quarterback but isn’t in a position to really draft a top guy.  My guess is that we would be looking at a second or third round pick for him.  Honestly, not a bad trade off for what he has done in Kansas City.

1. Trading Dontari Poe: This is the first of the unpopular decisions that I could see the Chiefs making.  This would only come in conjunction with a re-signing of Jaye Howard, which would temper some of the rage.  The big issue here is that Poe’s durability may be in question after a ton of heavy use.  However, he still has an outstanding reputation, and there are enough desperate/unqualified personnel guys in the NFL that the Chiefs should be able to coax a high pick in return, especially with Poe already being under the 5^th Year Option.

Trading Justin Houston

: This would certainly be an unpopular move.  However, if the Chiefs are intent on a rebuild, no move would net more assets than the trading of a guy who may be the best defensive player in the NFL.  The current Chiefs team is built on its defense, but you have to consider the fact that new leadership may want to make this an offensive team instead.  The Chiefs could easily get a high first round pick (possibly two) for someone of Houston’s talents.

A roster overhaul could include some very tough moves, including moving on from Jamaal Charles. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

1. Moving on from Jamaal Charles:   This one hurt to even think about, but it would have to be considered.  I’m not even talking about age and injuries here…I’m talking about the Chiefs unhealthy dependence upon one player to get things done.  A quality football organization should not be one player away from being a bad team.  But that feels like the case here in Kansas City, though that could certainly change depending on the rest of the season.

1. Don’t retain defensive free agents: Jaye Howard, Sean Smith, Derrick Johnson, Mike DeVito, Hussain Abdullah, and Eric Berry could all leave as free agents after this year, and it might be in the Chiefs best interest to let them.  While the immediate concern is “what about our defense?”, the truth is that we haven’t been able to win with the strong defense/running game approach.  And if we are going to blow everything up, then it really makes no sense to try and build it back the same way.  The money not spent on these players can go to an offensive line overhaul, or adding another target on the outside.  Plus, the Chiefs would be in an excellent position to have a ton of draft picks to work with in 2017.  If we’re going to rebuild, we should consider rebuilding completely.

A lot of these moves would be unpopular, but should certainly be considerations for a new front office and coaching staff looking to revamp a franchise that just can’t seem to get things rolling.  When you have been down for as long as the Chiefs have been, you really have to be open any and all options.

This isn’t about the things we want the organization to do.  It’s about what may need to be done.  And, unfortunately, that might just mean moving on from some very popular players who have not been able to win in Kansas City.  It sucks, but that is an issue that faces every bad team, and the Chiefs are a bad team.

Hopefully Clark Hunt is readying his battle plan for action, and perhaps this time he gets the right combination of General Manager and Head Coach, even if it is keeping the current group.  But the Chiefs do need to change something up.  We can’t keep doing what we are now and expect things to just change.