KC Chiefs: Four easiest roster decisions for the defense

Release Anthony Hitchens

This is nothing personal at all against Anthony Hitchens.

There was a time, not so long ago, that Hitchens would have been considered an overpaid disappointment, an early signing by Brett Veach to make a big free-agent splash early in his career that didn’t live up to the expectations placed him on by the price tag. Hitchens signed a five-year $45 million deal back in 2018 only for the defense to look porous in the middle for his first couple of seasons in K.C. It was not a good start.

However, Hitchens came into K.C. more projection than production and he turned the corner in these last two seasons as he matured on the field and grew up into the leadership/communicator role required of him by Steve Spagnuolo. While he was never a Pro Bowl-caliber performer, he was a reliable tackler in the heart of the Chiefs defense without a major weakness and the market eventually caught up with Htichens’ deal.

The problem at this point is not Hitchens or his price tag, per se. Rather, the Chiefs simply have young talent more than ready to take over the starting reps, and maintaining a highly-paid third linebacker just doesn’t make financial sense. If the Chiefs stayed in a base defense more than they do, keeping Hitchens around might be a good move, but Nick Bolton is ready for greater responsibility and Willie Gay Jr. is the athletic marvel the Chiefs wanted him to be. Together as a young duo, they look like the best linebacking core in years for Kansas City.

In a way, you could file this one close to the Frank Clark section. At his current price, Hitchens simply must go (or at least must be restructured). To that end, it would at least be worth the effort to ask Hitchens’ reps whether they’re open to any such discussion before deciding outright to release him. However, at the age of 29, Hitchens can likely still get another decent payday in the open market.