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Kansas City Chiefs: Say goodbye to Sean Smith and Jaye Howard

By Lyle Graversen

Oct 26, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith (21) during the second half against the St. Louis Rams at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 34-7. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith (21) during the second half against the St. Louis Rams at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 34-7. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sean Smith and Jaye Howard were both vital parts of the Kansas City Chiefs defense in 2015. Their contributions were both essential to the unit’s success and in turn a major reason the Chiefs turned their season around. Both players are in the prime of their career at ages 28 and 27 respectively and there is every reason to believe that they will be good players in the coming years.

Unfortunately, those seasons will very likely be played outside of the confines of Arrowhead Stadium and its time for Kansas City fans to come to terms with this.

Now, before I go any further I want to be very clear….the reason Smith and Howard won’t be in KC next year is not because they aren’t good players. On the contrary, I think they’re both very talented and deserve to make good money in free agency. So if you’re already preparing your argument for the comments section and were planning on telling me that I don’t understand just how well either Smith or Howard played this season, save your breath.

Second, I also understand that letting Smith and Howard walk will create holes in the roster that will have to be addressed. I get that too. Despite those two very valid points I still don’t believe either player will be back with the Chiefs next season. What’s more, I think that’s the smart decision to make for General Manager John Dorsey.

I’ll get into the specific reasons for each player in a moment, but before I do I’ll give you the major overlying reason for both players. That is that I don’t believe the Chiefs are in a position to mortgage their long term success to go all in to try and win the Super Bowl next season. While I don’t think a Super Bowl run in 2016 is far fetched, one of the things that excites me about the current state of the Kansas City Chiefs is how it appears John Dorsey has set up the team to be a long term winner.

Yes, winning a Super Bowl is the ultimate goal but I believe the Chiefs are in a position to be one of those teams like the Steelers or Packers that are always in the playoffs. It is with this long term big picture in mind that I say that Kansas City needs to let Smith and Howard walk this offseason.

Let’s begin with Sean Smith.

Next: Why Sean Smith is done in KC

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