Anthony Hitchens stood in the shadows with Kansas City Chiefs

Even the way Anthony Hitchens was released was largely overlooked.

In the wake of the news earlier this week that the Kansas City Chiefs had released Hitchens, a linebacker with four years of service to the team, the questions immediately shifted to Frank Clark, as if both moves needed to be made in tandem. The common response seemed to be, “With that out of the way, what’s next?”

It’s indicative of Hitchens’ entire career with the Chiefs.

Linebacker Anthony Hitchens’ tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs was one that was largely in the shadows.

Unfortunately for Hitchens, the players who came before him, the younger guys who have followed, and even his own signing—all faces and figures—loomed large during his stint with the Chiefs—each casting a long shadow that kept fans from ever likely fully appreciating his work on the field. Or at least giving it much thought.

The moment that Hitchens arrived was one in which linebacker was labeled as the single worst position talent-wise on the roster. Even when Bob Sutton’s defense was falling apart, the team could still get after the passer with Dee Ford, Justin Houston, and Chris Jones with 37.5 sacks between them. Behind them in the secondary were a young Charvarius Ward, Steven Nelson, Kendall Fuller and others. Safety was a major concern, but linebacker still remained the team’s weakness.

The shadow cast from the beginning was that of Derrick Johnson—or rather the lack of anyone resembling DJ—in the second level who could tackle well. The Chiefs had been used to dynamic play in the heart of the defense for so long and Hitchens was supposed to help (along with Reggie Ragland) turn things around. DJ was playing out his final games in Oakland, by the way, when Hitchens landed in K.C.

From there, Hitchens was okay as a player in his first season or two in Kansas City, but his own contract cast another shadow. Brett Veach seemed to bid against himself for the rights to Hitchens, a MIKE linebacker who was an experienced super sub for the Dallas Cowboys who found more starts than he should have given the number of injuries while in Dallas.

When Hitchens hit the open market, suddenly Veach laid down a five-year commitment with a $45 million ceiling. One year later, it was called the team’s worst contract. It was an overpay but the market would soon rise quickly to meet him, and Hitchens’ own play in the latter years of his deal in K.C. ended up matching his paychecks in the end. Still, it was too little, too late. The contract was yet another shadow over Hitchens’ play.

Even in the last two years of his deal, when Hitchens’ role as a leader, communicator, and player became more important than ever, the shadow cast came from the dynamic duo making up the heart of the team’s defense going forward. With successive second round picks utilized on Mississippi State linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton, the Chiefs generated serious excitement about an elevated ceiling of play in the middle.

Last season, even as Gay continued to learn in his second season and working through injuries, he looked the part of the single most talented linebacker on the Chiefs in five years. Right beside him, Bolton was a tackling machine with a nose for the football who is going to be a force in opposing backfields for years to come. Even as Hitchens was the veteran leader here, the rookies overshadowed him once more.

Hitchens was the best linebacker on a Super Bowl winning team, a man who started 59 games in. the heart of the Chiefs defense during some of the team’s golden years in the present. Yet he’ll always be a man in the shadows—of the man he was signed to help replace, of the rookies who came behind him, and of the size of his own contract when he first signed it. It’s unfair for a guy who turned into a very reliable player who has a more well-rounded game than many fans realize.