Will the Kansas City Chiefs say goodbye to Allen Bailey?

A veteran defensive lineman could be on the move this offseason as a new regime in the front office takes control in pivotal offseason

The Kansas City Chiefs, to a degree, have salary cap problems. Trading Alex Smith gets the Chiefs under the cap, but there is still a lot of work to do. What those moves will be have been hotly debated and subject to conjecture. Here, we explore the possibility of Allen Bailey finding a new home in 2018.

With any cap situation discussion, we’ll leave this here. Bailey is entering the last year of his contract in Kansas City with a cap number of $7,968,750, and the Chiefs would take a cap hit of $2,000,000. Moving on from Bailey would provide the Chiefs $5,968,750.

There are options for the Chiefs to replace Bailey’s spot on the field. Does Jarvis Jenkins return to provide depth at the position? Will second year Tanoh Kpassagnon move from the outside linebacker to a more natural line position? Obviously with Chris Jones on the other side, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches providing depth along the line, Kansas City has the minimum bodies neededto replace Bailey.

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While not a cap savings, should the Chiefs target Sheldon Richardson of the Seahawks or DaQuan Jones of the Titans to play that left front position? Muhammad Wilkerson has been released by the Jets, and fans and the media are tying to connect dots. However, after the issues that lead to the Marcus Peters departure, it’s hard to imagine the Chiefs taking on a guy that, by all apperances, quit on the team this past season.

With Dee Ford’s 2018 contract number of $8.718 million likely becoming fully guaranteed, the Chiefs will need to find cap room somewhere else, and with the Chiefs somewhat deep at DE and a draft with depth at the position, perhaps Bailey is the spot where cap room is found.

Despite all that, Bailey’s contract isn’t an albatross or massive overpay that necessitates immediate remedy. And the cap savings, just under 6 million, isn’t exactly a financial windfall to the Chiefs. A steady player along the defensive front, is Bailey’s cap number or performance so out of line that the Chiefs need to move off? Certainly remains to be seen.

After both watching the Chiefs display, time and time again, the inability to stop opposing offenses and based on comments from Clark Hunt and others indicating the defensive issues this past season were personnel related, moves are going to be made. Some ‘name’ guys are going to be shown the door. Will Bailey be one of the names on the outside looking in? Remains to be seen.

New GM Brett Veach has shown a willingness to make a trade during his short time on the job. Former Chiefs coaches and front office staff find themselves in Cleveland, Indianapolis and Chicago. All three could use help on defense. Could the Chiefs find a home for a guy like Allen Bailey while picking up a late round pick or two? If the Chiefs can find a trade home for Bailey, a trade could certainly make sense.

Next: Trade Justin Houston? A hypothetical scenario.

Past that, not sure the Chiefs make a move on Bailey due in large part to the fact he’s not due an overly high number, there isn’t a massive cap savings (number doesn’t change regardless of timing of release) and because you simply have to field a team and experienced veterans that don’t cost a ton are not exactly easy to find.

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