The Kansas City Chiefs Make Significant Moves in the Offseason
March 7, 2017
Even though the football season is over, the buzz in the NFL never stops. In the last ten days the Kansas City Chiefs have made some serious team decisions. As of March 1st the Chiefs released their former star running back, Jamaal Charles, and re-signed veteran safety, Eric Berry. The signing of Eric Berry comes to no surprise as he is a token of leadership and dedication to the Chiefs franchise. However his new contract with the Chiefs entails a six-year, $78 million deal including $40 million guaranteed, therefore making him the highest paid safety in the NFL. Berry has the talent to back this type of contract up, accumulating 4 interceptions returning 2 for touchdowns and being involved on 77 tackles this season alone. Even with these impressive stats the Chiefs face the reality that a good portion of their cap space is now devoted to Eric Berry and the Chiefs have major budget actions to be made.
One major budget move is the release of running back Jamaal Charles. Charles was a high paid but pivotal player in the Chiefs rushing and receiving offensive scheme. However in the last two seasons Charles has only played in eight games due to repeated injuries to his knee; mostly torn ACLs. These setbacks have often put the Chiefs in a tough position since their star running back was barely touching the field. This lack of production from Charles meant a huge waste of money for the Chiefs as Jamaal was one of the top five highest paid running backs in the NFL with a two year 18.1 million dollar contract extension in 2014. To accommodate for this cut to the team’s offense, the Chiefs signed C.J. Spiller, the former running back for the Seahawks and Jets, during the 2016 season. Now C.J. Spiller isn’t nearly the same caliber player he once was but neither is Jamaal Charles. Despite C.J.’s decline he will still provide the Chiefs a valid receiving option out of the backfield, as he averaged 8.3 yards per catch this past season. Spiller accompanied by the pair of backs, Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West who shared the majority of the rushing attempts in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, will create a depth heavy roster of reliable backs for the Chiefs 2017-18 season. Will these decisions be enough to lead the Chiefs to a long awaited deep playoff push? Only time and talent will tell.
Written by Brett Clark