The Kansas City Chiefs have a number of veterans who may be playing their final games with the team.
The Kansas City Chiefs just wrapped up one of their most successful regular seasons in team history. At 14-2, the team finished with the best record in franchise history. They also finished the season with their second top-seed in the last three years. This achievement gives them the AFC’s only bye week, usually a major advantage for the a team looking to win a championship.
With the close of another season comes the usual questions like how the team will fare in the playoffs or how they will address needs in the offseason. One that is particularly poignant for the Chiefs this season is which veteran players may be taking their final snaps with the team?
Alex Okafor
About a year ago at this time, Alex Okafor was the starting left defensive end across from Frank Clark. After signing a three-year deal with the team, Okafor took some time to get going but had five sacks and nine quarterback hits in his first 10 games. He looked to be just heating up for the Chiefs stretch run.
As was the case with a number of starters last season, Okafor suffered a season-ending injury against the Denver Broncos in the 14th game of the regular season. During the offseason, the Chiefs restructured Okafor’s deal from a three-year deal down to a two-year deal creating some much needed cap room.
With the development and consistency from Tanoh Kpassagnon, Okafor never regained his starting spot. With Clark’s and Chris Jones’ contracts eating up a huge percentage of the cap, along with the addition of Mike Danna, Okafor is a prime candidate to leave in free agency in the coming offseason.