The Kansas City Chiefs have release Paul Fanaika.
In a move that shocks absolutely nobody, the Chiefs have released guard Paul Fanaika. Fanaika signed a three-year, $6.15 million deal with the Chiefs in the 2015 offseason with $1.75 million guaranteed.
By releasing Fanaika, general manager John Dorsey is able to save just under $1 million against the salary cap and removes a logjam at guard. Right now, the Chiefs are starting Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Jah Reid with Zach Fulton as a backup. Fanaika would have needed a ton of injuries from the other players to get on the field, making his cap number ridiculous to keep.
Next year, the Chiefs will save $2 million with this move, something that will certainly go toward signing left tackle Eric Fisher and nose tackle Dontari Poe, both of whom are slated to be free agents. Fanaika never played in a regular season game for the Chiefs, hurting his back and landing on injured reserve during the preseason last year.
This will certainly go down as one of Dorsey’s worst signings. It ranks among the Dunta Robinson disaster (although one could argue Robinson’s signing was worse since his play actually impacted the team).
This new cap space will help the Chiefs stay under the cap with the incoming draft class.