The 2016 season for the Kansas City Chiefs ended in a disappointing fashion, as they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 18-16 in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Remember these Chiefs, as they did enough to earn the number two seed and a home game in the second round, but it was not enough to get the team over their 47-year slump when it comes to a Super Bowl appearance. The Chiefs will attempt to make another run at it next season, but some familiar faces may not be on the roster in 2017.
Possible Kansas City Chiefs Player Departures in 2017
Eric Berry
Eric Berry is the vocal and emotional leader of this team. There is no question about that. Berry played the 2016 season under the franchise tag, so he is a free agent when the new league year begins in March. Both head coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey have said they would like Berry back in Kansas City next year, and they have a couple of options to ensure this happens.
First, the Chiefs and Berry could agree on a long-term deal that keeps Berry in red and gold for the foreseeable future. A contract extension would be the most beneficial to the Chiefs’ cap situation over the first couple of seasons and likely would be back loaded to push the major cap numbers towards the end of the deal to work out at a later time.
Otherwise, the team could put the franchise tag on Berry again next year. Currently, the franchise tag is expected to be just over $13 million for Berry. Considering the cap limitations, this is not an ideal solution, but may be a necessary one if the team and Berry’s agents cannot agree on a long term deal.
Either way, it is hard to imagine Eric Berry not being back in Kansas City next year. The team took care of him when he had his battle with Lymphoma and stuck with him through all of it. It only makes sense for Berry to continue his career in Kansas City.
Dontari Poe
Dontari Poe is not as sure of a prospect to return as Berry is. Poe is also scheduled to become a free agent at the start of the 2017 league year, and one would expect Poe is looking for a major contract. However, Poe has a history of back issues and he has not performed quite as well recently as he did before the back injury.
If the Chiefs do reach a long-term agreement with Berry, Poe might be a prime candidate for the franchise tag. The one issue with this is that the franchise tag for defensive lineman is projected to be over $14 million. When you factor in the contracts that the Chiefs have given to Allen Bailey and Jaye Howard over the last two off seasons, plus drafting Chris Jones high in the draft in 2016, a Poe franchise tag would be a very large investment on the defensive line.
A long-term contract is always a possibility for Poe, but again considering the recent moves along the defensive line, it’s hard to see this being a practical solution as well. While it is always fun to think about Poe scoring offensive touchdowns, Sunday’s loss at Arrowhead Stadium might have been his last game in Kansas City.
Tamba Hali
Tamba Hali has been in Kansas City for ten seasons now, and many thought this season would be his last. Hali signed a three-year deal last offseason to ensure he would be back, but it was reported at the time that it was essentially a one-year deal with the two extra years added on for cap purposes. After the loss to the Steelers, reports have come out that Hali plans to play next year and possibly beyond.
Hali registered a total of seven snaps in the Divisional Round loss while Dee Ford, Justin Houston and Frank Zombo played a majority of the time at outside linebacker. Considering Hali’s 2017 cap number is over $8.5 million, something has to give. That cap hit is currently projected to be the sixth-highest cap hit for Kansas City next season.
There is always a possibility that Kansas City could re-do Hali’s deal and bring him back on a much lower cap number. This would need to be a complete re-do, however, and not a restructure that just kicks Hali’s cap number down the road to future years.
Jamaal Charles
Jamaal Charles is an all-time Chief. There is no debating that. However, Charles has ended the season on injured reserve the past two years and has a cap number of $7 million. This is a high number for a player that the team has not been able to rely on in the regular season or during crucial playoff runs.
Imagine for a moment if Kansas City could put a healthy Charles on the same field along side Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Jeremy Maclin. The possibilities are endless here, and one that Kansas City has to consider moving forward. But that cap number is big. In fact, it is the eighth highest cap his for the 2017 season.
It seems like Charles wants to be in Kansas City next year. Charles’ wrote a long blog post thanking the Chiefs and the fans for all of their support and clearly stated he wanted to keep playing. Charles is only 29, so he could have some productive years ahead of him. It is just up to the Chiefs to decide if they want to try to work that number down or take a chance and pay him his fully salary. Chances are, if Charles is back in Kansas City, it will be at a much lower rate.
Alex Smith / Nick Foles
This is where things get really interesting. Alex Smith and Nick Foles are the second and fourth highest cap hits on the books for the 2017 season. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation for any team in the National Football League.
After the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Andy Reid was non-committal to any quarterback for the 2017 season. Now, this obviously does not mean that Kansas City will move on from Smith, but it’s worth questioning. Smith has two years left on his deal and, while Smith has won numerous games for the Chiefs, the offense seems to constantly be limited and only putting up average numbers at best.
The problem is that if the Chiefs were to move away from Smith, there aren’t any legitimate options available that would currently be an upgrade over him. On top of that, this team is built to win now, as evidenced by the AFC West Championship the team claimed this year.
One other option is that the Chiefs could opt to move on from Smith, roll with Foles for a season and then go with the quarterback of the future in 2018. This, however, would likely be a step back at the quarterback position. Despite Smith’s limitations, he does have a strong grasp on this offense and what Reid intends to do with it.
Conclusion
The Chiefs are close to entering a transition period with their team. Many of the players that will be leaving the roster soon will one day be in the Chiefs Ring of Honor. While many fans will be upset with some of the upcoming moves, we will all have to keep in mind that the NFL is a business first and foremost. The fans will just have to trust the leadership at the top and hope that one day this team can get over the hump and hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
