Jeremy Maclin’s release will hurt the Chiefs in myriad ways

The Kansas City Chiefs are going to feel the loss of Jeremy Maclin in a number of ways.

If you’re like us, you woke up this morning still scratching your head at the news that dropped on Friday night—that the Kansas City Chiefs had released wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. Everything about the move felt wrong or off in some way, from the timing to the actual move itself to the shock of all of it. One look at Chiefs twitter showed everyone largely feeling the same sense of confusion, wondering how John Dorsey could justify the release.

Maclin was, after all, the team’s top wide receiver. It’s too easy to look at a stat sheet from last year and see the middling production over 12 games and think Maclin had lost his ability, that he’d somehow slowed down as he’s gotten older. However, as Arrowhead Pride’s Seth Keysor has so wonderfully broken down, Maclin was still Maclin even in 2016, despite only 44 catches for 536 yards and 2 touchdowns.

There is primary thing gained by releasing Jeremy Maclin at this point, specifically after June 1: money. Loads and loads of money. Specifically, the Chiefs earn $10 million in cap room this year. That’s enough to sign the remaining rookies—Patrick Mahomes, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Kareem Hunt—and have enough for another move or two or an emergency fund. It’s also true the Chiefs can roll over any remaining cap room into a new league year (important for extensions for Dee Ford).

However, this move will cost the Chiefs in a number of ways, some of which have been discussed plenty and others that have hardly registered with the greater fan base.