The Kansas City Chiefs were beyond horrible last season. They had the talent, as evidenced by the amount of Pro Bowlers they had on the roster, but the team just fell apart when it counted the most. It turned the ball over a record amount of times in the first half of the season as Matt Cassel struggled making plays in the passing game.
Overall, Kansas City has to go into this offseason with a couple different things in mind. It must find a quarterback of the present, whether he is the long-term solution or not. It also must upgrade the defensive line as well as skill positions (wide receiver and tight end) on offense.
Let's take a gander at what is in store for the Chiefs' offseason.
Salary Cap Room: $16.1 million
Draft Picks: Seven (one in each round)
Projected Compensatory Picks: third and seventh round
As you can see above, Kansas City does have a couple free agents that it needs to focus on. While Bowe will get the most play from the media, Albert seems the most logical choice to reain if Kansas City had to choose between the two. He is a solid pass-protecting offensive tackle and can be an important cog in their plans moving forward. As it relates to Bowe, his relationship (on again off again) just hasn't been to great with his original franchise. Kansas City might want to let him walk and replace him with an external free agent.
Quinn, Hillis, Dorsey and Elam will probably move on. None of them figure into Andy Reid's scheme and will probably be packing bags come March.
Potential Salary Cap Casualties
Tyson Jackson, Defensive End ($17.5M)
Matt Cassel, Quarterback ($9.8 M)
Expect both of these players to be shown the door unless they agree to dramatic drops in salary. Only $2.8M of Jackon's contract is guaranteed for '13, which means the Chiefs could be let off relatively easy this offseason by releasing him. As it relates to Cassel, only $2.3M os his salary is guaranteed. This means that Kansas City could save over $22 million in its '13 cap by releasing these two under-performing veterans.
eDraft Mocks
Seven-Round Version, Vincent Frank (2/11/12)
1. Geno Smith, Quarterback, West Virginia
2. Sharrif Floyd, Defensive Tackle, Florida
3. Kevin Reddick, Linebacker, North Carolina
3. Cobi Hamilton, Wide Receiver, Arkansas
4. Jordan Hill, Defensive Tackle, Penn State
From Nick Slegel 1/30/13
From Patrick Conn 1/24/13