Chiefs: Signing of Terrelle Pryor Spells the End for Chase Daniel in Kansas City

According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, the Kansas City Chiefs signed former Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor. With Pryor now on the roster, which quarterbacks will the Chiefs keep going into the 2015 season?

It is likely that Kansas City will look to part ways with backup quarterback and former Missouri Tiger Chase Daniel.

General manager John Dorsey signed Daniel to a three-year deal worth $10 million during the 2013 offseason and was one of Dorsey’s first moves as a Chiefs general manager. It is unknown why Daniel signed for that much money when it was known that he would be the backup for Kansas City. The Chiefs had traded a pair of second-round picks for Alex Smith the same offseason.

According to Spotrac, Daniel is set to make $3.75 million, which is plenty of money for a backup quarterback.

Joel Corry of CBSSports.com reported that the Chiefs will have around $400,000 of cap space this offseason. The Chiefs certainly need to free up some space. By doing so, they will need to part ways with multiple players. Considering Daniel will make $3.75 million, it is a smart idea for the Chiefs to trade him.

The Chiefs have rookie Aaron Murray and second-year man Tyler Bray on the roster as backups as well, but neither has regular-season experience in the NFL. The addition of Pryor gives the Chiefs a backup quarterback with a couple years of experience in the NFL.

In case Smith goes down to injury, the Chiefs will have a more viable option to take over.

Now that the Chiefs have a backup in Pryor, Daniel will likely be traded away or cut.

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

Earlier this week, I put together a list of teams that could use Daniel and perhaps give him a shot to start. But will teams be willing to offer a low draft pick for Daniel? He has a couple of career starts and proved himself well in those two games.

In Week 17 against the San Diego Chargers during the 2013 season, Chiefs coach Andy Reid rested all 22 starters since the team would settle with a No. 5 seed either way in the playoffs.

While working with the second-team offense, Daniel made 21 of 30 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown pass, concluding the game with a 99.3 quarterback passer rating. Daniel also showed off his scrambling abilities, running seven times for 59 yards.

Daniel put Kansas City in position to win with the second-stringers, but it fell short when then-Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop missed what would have been the game-winning field goal. The Chargers went on to win in overtime.

One year later, Daniel filled in for an injured Smith against the same team, with the playoffs on the line for the Chargers once again.

Despite having limited talent around him and a group of wide receivers that did not throw a touchdown, Daniel managed to move the ball well and show some aggression with the offense while under center. Daniel completed 16 of 27 passes for 157 yards, finishing with a 75.7 quarterback passer rating while outplaying Philip Rivers in the head-to-head battle.

Daniel came into both of those games against the Chargers when San Diego had to win in order to make the playoffs. Despite the miss in the first meeting, Daniel had done his part to put the Chiefs in position to win and try to keep the Chargers away from reaching the playoffs in both games.

It is a small sample size, and the Chiefs won't be able to fairly demand a high draft pick. But with Kansas City needing to free up space, it should be able to get something out of him in a trade with a team that needs a quarterback.

Pryor started in 10 games in 2012 and 2013 for the Raiders. He threw for nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Pryor also ran for three touchdowns and set the record for longest touchdown run by a quarterback in NFL history with a 93-yard run.

The Raiders took Pryor in the third round of the 2011 NFL supplemental draft after prepping at Ohio State. Pryor had a brief stint with the Seattle Seahawks during the 2014 preseason.

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