6 Kansas City Chiefs Who Will Be on the Roster Bubble in 2015
With the Kansas City Chiefs not participating in the postseason, the team's front office gets an early start in preparing for and planning out its 2015 offseason. In doing so, the Chiefs are looking at players they can recruit through free agency and the draft.
At the same time, Kansas City also has to figure out which players it wants to part ways with.
With the Chiefs looking to free up some cap space, they must make some challenging decisions in letting go of some of their good players due to money being a factor. That is where the business part comes into play.
Here are the six Kansas City Chiefs who started games last year but could find themselves on the roster bubble and possibly get cut or traded away.
WR Dwayne Bowe
1 of 6
For the second season in a row, a non-wide receiver leads the Chiefs in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches. Last year, it was running back Jamaal Charles, who led Kansas City in all three categories, while tight end Travis Kelce took the reigns for this season. In addition, the wide receivers went the entire season without a touchdown catch.
Dwayne Bowe has been hard to trust, and he showed it in the last two weeks when he did have an opportunity to score a touchdown. He dropped a pass in Week 16 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and fumbled right before reaching for the end zone in Week 17 against the San Diego Chargers.
Despite doing so in a postseason game last year against the Indianapolis Colts, Bowe has yet to log a 100-yard receiving game in a regular-season contest under head coach Andy Reid.
The wide receivers lack productivity, including Bowe, the team's primary receiver. Bowe finished with 60 catches for 754 yards this past year.
OLB Tamba Hali
2 of 6
Tamba Hali is not on this list because of his lack of production. Instead, he is a key player on the roster bubble because of his contract.
Right behind Bowe and Alex Smith, Hali has the third highest base salary at $6.75 million. Considering the Chiefs' need to free up cap space, Hali must take a pay cut or re-structure his contract with the team.
Although Dee Ford would step in his place, Hali remains a valuable asset beside Justin Houston and Ford can still produce while in rotation, as he did late in the 2014 season.
Hali, who was voted to the Pro Bowl for a fifth consecutive season, finished with six sacks and three forced fumbles.
QB Chase Daniel
3 of 6
With the recent addition of quarterback Terrelle Pryor, and Chase Daniel set to make $3.75 million as a backup quarterback, Daniel's last game likely came against the San Diego Chargers.
Daniel is 10th on the team's base salary and could be the third player among the 10 to be let go to create space.
With two impressive Week 17 performances in the last two seasons, the Chiefs may have a chance at using Daniel for trade bait and possibly get back a low-draft pick in return.
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WR Donnie Avery
4 of 6
After an average performance as a No. 2 receiver for the Chiefs in 2013, Donnie Avery took a big step back in 2014. His second season with the Chiefs was derailed by injuries. He was available in just six games, pulling in 15 receptions for 176 yards.
Unlike the first three players on this list, Avery won't be a cap casualty. Instead, he could likely be released because of his limited and poor play.
With Avery being the second wide receiver on this list, Chiefs general manager knows that his team must seek wide receivers through free agency and the draft.
DE Jaye Howard
5 of 6
Defensive end Jaye Howard is on this list because of Mike DeVito's return, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. With DeVito set to come back, Jaye Howard becomes vulnerable.
Either Howard stays as a backup or could eventually get cut.
However, Howard was impressive against the run, coming up with five tackles for a loss. Though DeVito could return and take back his starting role, Howard will compete in training camp and prove he is just as worthy, leaving the Chiefs to make a tough decision around August and September when they do roster cuts.
CB Marcus Cooper
6 of 6
Marcus Cooper had an impressive rookie season with the Chiefs in 2013, coming away with three interceptions, 18 pass deflections and 44 tackles. Cooper even filled in for Brandon Flowers as a starter, getting a lot of action and playing well.
But his second season was the complete opposite to his first. While being placed near the far bottom of the depth chart, Cooper had 21 tackles, no picks and the Chiefs find themselves needing to make a decision on whether or not they want to keep him moving forward.
Cornerback is another position where the Chiefs need help and the team will need to cut some of its current players at that position to make room for potential newcomers.
Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com and contract information from Spotrac.com
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