Can anyone explain the Chiefs re-release of C.J. Spiller again?

The Kansas City Chiefs have released running back C.J. Spiller because there’s apparently no need for insurance or depth in the NFL.

What is happening? Seriously what is happening in the Kansas City Chiefs front office these days? Veteran running back C.J. Spiller has been signed, released, re-signed and now re-released this offseason, three of those transactions taking place in the last few days alone. What does this mean?

It means that a few hours before the Chiefs were set to suit up and face the New England Patriots in the season-opening game, they decide to go as thin as possible at running back.

It means that in the moments before playing in front of the biggest audience of the entire regular season, millions and millions of people, the Chiefs (who are not against the cap at this point) decide to save a few bucks so they don’t have to offer Spiller a guaranteed deal.

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It means that just before they stare down the NFL’s greatest coach, the NFL’s greatest quarterback and the defending Super Bowl Champions, they’re tweaking their roster to make sure their only rushing options are a rookie and the least effective holdover from last season.

If all of that sounds odd or disconcerting or confusing, you would be correct on all counts. Even if the Chiefs could add another player at this point, he wouldn’t be ready to play on Thursday night against the Patriots. It’s too late to absorb the game plan.

Instead the Chiefs will now prepare to play with only Kareem Hunt and Charcandrick West as their running backs—a sexy tandem only for those infatuated with potential. Hunt could be the next great Chiefs running back—we all certainly hope so—but kicking back in the recliner with a Hunt/West one-two in Week 1 is a fool’s errand. One hasn’t proven himself; the other, well, hasn’t proven himself.

Does Spiller really mean that much to the Chiefs? Not at all. He’s a question mark himself, a reclamation project, a bettor’s ticket with a low-percentage shot of hitting. Why become so distraught about a player who the Chiefs should not be counting on in the first place? Because he’s one of 3 running backs on a roster that was already thin at the spot since Spencer Ware was declared out for the season.

Spiller represented insurance, depth, hope. If Hunt isn’t ready for the big time, if West doesn’t turn a corner toward productivity, if things go awry, Spiller is at least there, a veteran who knows how to go through the motions.

What does it gain the Chiefs to terminate Spiller’s deal at this juncture? A lot of unnecessary question marks and a bit of potential money saved for a team that didn’t need it. Now they’ve added a headache from question marks of a different kind.

It’s a silly transaction at a position where confusion has reigned for weeks.

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