The departure of several veterans this offseason should help the Chiefs gain some much needed salary cap space.
Could anyone imagine a situation in which the Kansas City Chiefs would look this bad? When trying to look to the future, short-term or long, it can be difficult to find positives. A season is coming off the rails against the worst teams on the schedule and is followed up with limited draft resources after making trades. So what do the Chiefs have to look forward to? Simple: cash.
Currently, according to Over the Cap, the Chiefs currently sit just over $11.5 million dollars over the 2018 salary cap. (Newly signed cornerback Darrelle Revis has a $10 million 2018 cap number, not guaranteed until the official start of the 2018 season). However, the Chiefs are in a decent position to create enough cap room to address some issues for the team going forward.
Here are some names that are likely playing their last games with the Chiefs in 2017: quarterback Alex Smith, linebacker Tamba Hali, linebacker Derrick Johnson, defensive lineman Allen Bailey, cornerback Darrell Revis and tight end Demetrius Harris
The departure of Alex Smith has been forecasted since the Chiefs made the decision to add Patrick Mahomes and pay a steep price to land the signal caller. The question, as the season continues to derail, is whether the Chiefs receive any type of value back in a trade for Smith? Either way, Smith’s departure will create $17 million in cap room.
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Darrell Revis is a nice name, a veteran past his prime brought in with the hopes of providing a short term boost to the Chiefs defense. While the Chiefs certainly could use such a boost, it’s hard to believe that the team will bring back the 33-year-old cornerback on a fully guaranteed 10 million salary.
The likely departure of middle linebacker Derrick Johnson will be a sad but necessary move. Perhaps the Chiefs will be able to bring back the 35-year-old linebacker on a restructured deal, but it’s obvious Johnson’s best days are behind him. Also, the organization has already begun planning for his departure with the acquisitions of Reggie Regland and Kevin Pierre-Louis. His release would create $8 million in cap room.
Tamba Hali’s pending departure has been rumored for years, ever since the drafting of Dee Ford. And while he’s always been able to accomplish enough and restructure his own deals to ensure he stays, this year will be his last. After a mysterious stay on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list that was preceded by his claims that he was healthy, Hali just can’t stay on the field. The time has come. His departure will create another $8 million in cap room .
Defensive lineman Allen Bailey’s 2016 and 2017 seasons have been derailed by injuries, and with the drafting of Chris Jones in 2016 and Kpassangoh in 2017, Bailey’s departure also appears imminent. Worth more released then to keep, Bailey saves the Chiefs an additional $6 million this offseason.
Demetrius Harris doesn’t do a lot to save the Chiefs in cap room, but there is very little dead money (200K) and he does basically nothing for the Chiefs. The Chiefs likely enter the offseason for a young, cheap backup tight end and will save the $2 million from letting Harris go.
For those keeping track at home, those moves alone create give the Chiefs 40 million in cap room. Yet another name to keep an eye on is linebacker Dee Ford. Entering the last year of his rookie deal, Ford is due $8 million in 2018. At this point, it’s not guaranteed. His inability to either create pressure or at this point be on the field, he to could be a candidate to be sent packing.