Chiefs Salary Cap
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As of this second, they are $7M over for next season.
Possible players who will be Cut/Traded:
Pre June-1
- Alex Smith: $17M in Cap Savings Pre- June 1
- Derrick Johnson: $8M Pre- june 1
- Tamba Hali : $8M pre-June 1
- Dee Ford: $9M Pre-June1
- Darelle Revis: $4.5M Pre-June 1
- Demetrius Harris: $2M Pre- June 1
- Charcandrick West: $1.75M Pre - June 1
Post June-1
- Justin Houston: $15M in Cap savings Post - June 1
- Eric Fisher: $10M in Cap Savings Post - June 1
- Ron Parker: $6M Post-June 1
- Mitchell Schwartz - $6M
- Allen Bailey - $6M
You obviously can’t get rid of everyone. But here is what I would do.
- Trade Smith for a high 2nd round pick.
- Cut Harris, West, Ford, Bailey and Hali Pre-june 1
- Keep Johnson and Revis.
- Trade fisher for a 2nd or a 3rd and a 4th round pick.
- Trade Schwarts for a 3rd or a 4th and a 5th round pick.
- Trade Parker for a 5th round pick.
- Keep Houston.
That would shed nearly $66M in cap space. I would take that and resign Fulton, Pierre-Louis, Wilson, and Benny Logan who are all pending free agents. That would eat up about $25M of the savings. Combined with the rookie signings, $7M in Cap debt and the $25M of resignings, the Chiefs would have about $24M in Cap Room for this season.
Next season, after our Dead money is all off the books, we would get an extra $14.4M in Cap Space as well. If the Chiefs draft well, and can find a way to get 3 or 4 picks in the first 64, that would be huge. We will hopefully have some big contracts to sign coming up with Hill, (I know some of you don’t want him) Peters, Jones and Mahomes. So keeping cap space is important. We don’t want to get put in the Dorsey position again where we are cutting players that would have been vital to this season. Adding Maclin to this past teams offense would have made them that much scarier.
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Tamba and DJ are pretty easy cuts imo. Unless DJ wants to take a hefty pay cut. He is an all-time Chief but he has clearly lost a step or two. I’d move on from Alex as well but I’m not sure if that will happen.
I would think they could get something for Alex as he would be an upgrade for many teams in this league.
I don’t have a huge issue with any of your suggestions though I would probably keep Schwartz. If they could get a 2nd round pick for Fisher I would do that in a second.
This team drafting well might be a reach.
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Smith will almost certainly be traded. I can’t see the Chiefs paying him that kind of money with the current roster they have.
Johnson is a toss up. He hasn’t stayed healthy consecutive years since 2012-2013. That makes him tough to keep, although he is still productive. The Chiefs probably part ways simply because the defense has been so bad.
Hali will be cut, or will retire.
Dee Ford will probably re-negotiate, or be traded/cut
Revis will either retire or return. It’s doubtful they cut him at that salary level.
Harris and West both come back because those are fairly reasonable deals. Same for Parker, Schwartz and Bailey.
Fisher makes a lot of money, so if an upgrade is available, he probably gets cut/traded.
Houston is the hardest call because he can dominate, but he hasn’t been consistently healthy since 2014. He’s not old, but you can’t dominate when you aren’t on the field.
I can’t see the Chiefs cutting some of the cheaper guys. You have to have backups, and none of those guys makes outlandish money. The Chiefs should be aggressive, though. They have a flawed roster, and the window with Hunt, Kelce, Hill and Mahomes offensively may only be open for a few years.
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@justanotherfan I don’t think West comes back. You can sign a 3rd stringer and save $1M right there. I’d let Bailey go to keep Benny Logan and then draft another DLineman. Bailey was injured or ineffective all season. Not really worth $6M.
Parker was overpaid from the start because of a weak FA class. I’d let him go. Not that he was horrible or is a liability. But he also isn’t a playmaker over the top.
Dee Ford is not a Chief next season.
I think DJ will probably be cut. I just like his presence.
Schwartz is fine. I’m not mad if we trade or keep him.
Harris is not worth $2M. The man is a drop machine.
This team really needs to acquire some draft picks some way, some how. The defense needs to get younger, and fast.
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West is incredibly average. I wouldn’t even be opposed to a mid to late draft pick replacing him.
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@BShark Should get Ware back next season. Should make a pretty good 1-2 punch. I’d sign a practice squad guy as my 3rd string. A 3rd down specific type of guy.
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Chiefs also need to find a way to get another NT to anchor the 3-4. Stopping the run has been a problem for too long. If Vita Vea falls to the 20s in the 1st Round, Chiefs need to find a way to trade up for him.
My top priorities in order:
- DE - Weak draft class - Would like to see us just sign a vet FA. Aldon Smith, Connor Barwin or Ziggy Ansah could be potential adds.
- NT - Would love to draft a guy here. However, Poe is a FA again this offseason and I wouldn’t hate to see him back. Strong free agent class here. Probably makes most sense to really invest in the D-Line through free agency.
- ILB - A few free agents available. Wouldn’t be opposed. But should probably spend one of our first 3 picks here. However, if the price is right…
- CB - Draft one. CB free agent signings usually do not go well, IMO. And I’m sure Reid still has nightmares about signing Nnamdi Asomugha
- OL - One of the 1st 3 picks every season should be an OL IMO.
- WR - Free agent class is rough. Look for another underrated guy in the draft who can really work the slot.
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@Kcmatt7 I am quite impressed with the extent of your knowledge on the cap and the Chiefs’ position strengths. Very helpful.
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Ford, Revis, Hali and Harris all should be cut. I’d keep West for how cheap he is, the others are debatable besides trading Smith.
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@kjayhawks why would you cut Revis? I felt our pass D got much better after we signed him. And we have no better option behind him. A good FA CB will cost $10m a year easy. And a lot of FA CBs end up huge busts in a new system.
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@Kcmatt7 I honestly wasn’t impressed with Revis and think he years past his prime, maybe he’s worth keeping to help some the young guys.
