Despite the lack of immediate cap space available, the Chiefs still have some players they could cut and/or contracts they could restructure, if they want the room.
After signing some big contracts this off season the Kansas City Chiefs are close to being out of money. Even after Derrick Johnson and Anthony Sherman restructured their contracts, the Chiefs will need to find other ways to get cap space if they want to keep spending.
According to the cap tracking website Spotrac, the Chiefs currently have $4.4 million in cap space. The draft class is expected to take up around $3 to $4 million of that space depending on their selections. This means if the Chiefs want to sign any more free agents they will need to find some money. Lucky for them there are a couple ways they can create some cap space.
- The easiest way to free up cap space is to cut players. It’s best if you can find players who have large contracts but little dead money you’d owe if you cut them. A prime example of this is Dustin Colquitt. He’s set to be the highest paid punter in the league in 2017, making $4.9 million. If the Chiefs cut Colquitt they would only owe him $800,000 this year. He is a great punter, but if the Chiefs can get better at another position than he is expendable. Having the best punter in the league is a luxury item that is nice to have, but in no way is it necessary. Can anyone name the punter for the New England Patriots or Atlanta Falcons?
- Other players that could be cut without big hits to the roster would be Tyler Bray, Albert Wilson, and Phillip Gaines. Those three would save the Chiefs a combined $4.8 million. If they cut all four players the Chiefs could add almost $9 million to their $4.4 million in cap space. This would give them plenty of room for their draft picks and free agents.
- If they don’t want to cut these players the Chiefs can also create cap space by restructuring contracts. They’ve already done that with Johnson and Sherman so the team is willing to go this route. Johnson’s cleared $4.25 million in cap room while Sherman’s cleared around $550,000. The contract of Alex Smith is the number one option as he’s due $16.9 million this season. Justin Houston is also a likely candidate as he’s set to make $22.1 million this year. The team could restructure their base salaries and bonuses to save millions if needed. The exact amounts they could save are dependent on the deals and how much the team needed to clear.
The downside to restructured deals is that it pushes the cap hit to future years. This isn’t always the case as sometimes the player is willing to take a pay cut. This is what Johnson did as his cap number next year didn’t change. But this is a rarity as most of these restructured deals do push the money to the next year. Restructuring too many contracts can hurt a team’s future cap flexibility.
As of now the Chiefs have enough space to sign their draft picks and continue with the roster they have. So if they feel they have the roster they want than they shouldn’t need to make any moves. But if an injury happens or the team feels they need to pick up more free agents then some tough decisions will need to be made.
I would rather see the Chiefs cut players. We have plenty of players who either don’t play or aren’t vital to the system that won’t be missed. This frees up the space we need without effecting the future in any way. Either way the important thing to note is the Chiefs may not have much cap space, but they can easily make more. So don’t worry about the cap holding the Chiefs back from picking up players; if they don’t sign them it’s because they don’t want them not because they can’t get the money.