Kansas City Chiefs release quarterback Kyle Shurmur

The Kansas City Chiefs have released quarterback Kyle Shurmur in a move that clears a roster space after the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs have decided to make the quarterback competition on the roster a bit more clear sooner rather than later with the release of second-year pro Kyle Shurmur.

Shurmur joined the Chiefs last year as an undrafted free agent from Vanderbilt. He competed with Chase Litton for the final quarterback spot on the team, although that was not part of the active roster but instead a spot on the practice squad.

At this point, the pecking order in Kansas City at quarterback is no longer clouded in any way. Patrick Mahomes is the obvious starter and reigning Super Bowl MVP. Chad Henne is the lone veteran backup and clear No. 2 man on the depth chart. Recent import Jordan Ta’amu, signed fresh out of the XFL’s St. Louis franchise, is now the new developmental quarterbank.

The timing of Shurmur’s release is a bit interesting given that his former favorite wide receiver from Vanderbilt was just arriving, so to speak. Kalija Lipscomb just wrapped his career at Vanderbilt and signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent for a healthy signing bonus. Unfortunately there won’t be any such familiar connections now that Shurmur has been let go.

The son of current Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, Kyle re-signed with the team for another year in February but is now a free agent who is able to sign with any team. Perhaps a stint with the Broncos is in order to not only work with his father but provide a bit of AFC West insight to a division rival.