Top Free Agents

WR Dwayne Bowe

Despite having some of the worst quarterback play in the NFL over that stretch, Bowe has averaged 75 catches for 1041 yards and 7 touchdowns per 16 games in his 6-year NFL career and he’s played in 88 of a possible 96 games in his career. It’ll be really interesting to see what kind of production he gets if he goes to a team with a better quarterback. It theoretically should go up, but receivers oftentimes have issues adjusting to a new team and a new offensive system and he probably won’t see the 8.5 targets per game he averaged throughout his career in Kansas City. He also turns 29 in September so age is an issue when you start talking about 4-5 year deals. Still, he’s the top receiver on the open market this off-season.

OT Branden Albert

Not a well-known player, but Albert is a great left tackle when healthy and after years of questions about whether or not the Chiefs should move him to right tackle to back to his collegiate position of guard, Albert finally showed himself to be worth the 15th overall pick (in 2008) these past two seasons. When healthy, he’s probably a top-10 left tackle in the NFL. The problem: he suffered through back spasms throughout most of last season, which tends to be a lingering injury. That could cost him some money on the open market. The Chiefs may even be content going forward with 2012 3rd round pick Donald Stephenson, rather than risking money on Albert.

P Dustin Colquitt

One of five Chief Pro-Bowlers, Dustin Colquitt averaged 46.8 yards per punt, 40.8 net yards per punt, pinned 46 of 83 inside the 20 with just 7 touchbacks and was ProFootballFocus’ 6th rated punter this season. Punters don’t get a lot of money on the open market, but Colquitt is one of the best in the league so the Chiefs let him go, he’ll have suitors. The Chiefs could opt to franchise tag him if they don’t want to tag either of the two aforementioned players.

DT Glenn Dorsey

One of two top-5 mega-busts for the Chiefs (we’ll get to the 2nd later), Dorsey is a decent run stopper, but offers absolutely nothing as a pass rusher. He also missed most of 2012 with calf and knee problems. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of market greets him this off-season, as it looks like his time in Kansas City is done. He’d probably be best off returning to his collegiate 4-3 system, but he might not get a guaranteed starting job in either.

RB Peyton Hillis

Remember when this guy was on the cover of Madden? Good times. Injuries have limited him to 246 carries and 3.6 YPC in the two years since. He might get a job as a 3rd down back and/or short yardage specialist, but he might want to consider going back to fullback, the position he broke into the league as, in order to secure a job in 2013.

S Abram Elam

He wasn’t a starter going into the year, but he ended up playing a significant amount of snaps for the Chiefs and he was solid. He was also solid in previous stops in Dallas and Cleveland. He does turn 31 this year, but if you need safety depth, you could do a lot worse than this guy.

The rest

QB Brady Quinn
TE Jake O’Connell
TE Martin Rucker
G Russ Hochstein
C Thomas Gafford
DT Shaun Smith
OLB Edgar Jones
MLB Brandon Siler
MLB Bryan Kehl
CB Travis Daniels

Candidates for release

DE Tyson Jackson

This is about as obvious as they come. Jackson was the 3rd overall pick in the not so long ago era when top-5 picks commanded ridiculous salaries. Because of that, he’ll be owed 14.72 million in the final year of his contract in 2013 and he’s not worth a third of that. The mega-bust is solid against the run, but has generated 24 total sacks, hits, and hurries in his 4 year career and with everyone who was responsible for drafting him gone in Kansas City, he’s as good as gone unless he takes a massive pay cut. He should generate some interest on the open market, but it’s probably in his best interest to go back to the 4-3 system he played in at LSU.

WR Steve Breaston

This one is also pretty obvious. Breaston was brought in from Arizona by Todd Haley, but he never really lived up to the 5 year, 22.55 million dollar contract he got two off-seasons ago. With Haley gone this year, Breaston barely played, especially down the stretch as he was a healthy scratch during weeks 12-16 and played just 10 snaps week 17. Owed 3.8 million in 2013, he won’t be back. It’ll be interesting to see if he generates any interest on the open market, with a history of injury problems and heading into his age 30 season.

QB Matt Cassel

This one is about as obvious as the first two. Matt Cassel was benched this season for Brady Quinn and has next to no chance of being the Chiefs’ starter in 2013. Andy Reid will want his own guy and he certainly won’t want this turnover machine, who was benched for the incompetent Brady Quinn. He’s only a backup in the NFL and isn’t worth the 7.5 million he’s owed next season. He’ll have to hunt for a backup job on the open market this off-season.