Jeff Allen released by Chiefs to make room for Morris Claiborne

The Kansas City Chiefs made a surprise roster move with the release of Jeff Allen to make room for new cornerback Morris Claiborne.

The return of Morris Claiborne in time for Week 5 to the Kansas City Chiefs was going to knock someone off of the active roster. On Thursday, the Chiefs announced the surprising news that the player to be released was offensive lineman Jeff Allen.

Allen joined the Chiefs in the middle of the team’s preseason as a veteran addition who was able to give experience, talent and versatility to a team he was already very familiar with. Allen himself said he wasn’t surprised when he heard from the Chiefs which seemed to signal that he’d been communicating with the team all along, even as a free agent.

That’s what makes this all the more surprising.

Claiborne is joining the Chiefs after signing with them in August. He was suspended for the first four games of the season, which allowed the Chiefs to keep him off of the active roster for the season’s first quarter. Now off of suspension, the Chiefs had to make a roster move before the team’s Sunday night game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Plenty of names were bandied about as potential cuts in terms of who could make room for Claiborne, and it’s not a shock to see an offensive lineman get the pink slip. The Chiefs are carrying an incredible amount on the roster at this stage (11) which doesn’t make much sense for the long term.

What is surprising is that such recent imports like Martinas Rankin, the trade return from the Houston Texans for running back Carlos Hyde, and Greg Senat, a signing from the Baltimore Ravens from less than two weeks ago, both made the cut. It speaks to the potential of both players that the Chiefs would rather go without a proven product in Allen for the sake of keeping both developmental players.

Allen has played in 84 games in his NFL career, including 58 of them with the Chiefs. He was the team’s second round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.