Chiefs cut 4 players: Surtain, Edwards, Huard and Merritt

[BigRock]

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/24/chie...n-who-is-next/

Kansas City remade its front office, its coaching staff and now it gets to work on its roster. One of the first of those significant moves came Tuesday, when the Chiefs cut veteran CB Patrick Surtain.

The move removed Surtain’s $7 million base salary off Kansas City’s books and instantly freed up $6.184 million that the Chiefs will now be able to spend on free agents and draft picks. The 32-year-old Surtain is not expected to be the last Chiefs player released before Friday. Veteran LB Donnie Edwards could also be in jeopardy, as he is scheduled to make $5 million in base salary. If he is released, it would free up another $4.5 million in salary-cap savings.

It’s the time of the year when the size of the free-agent pool grows by the day. It happened Tuesday in Kansas City, and it will happen again Wednesday and Thursday in other cities.

[BigChiefFan]

Originally Posted by philfree

So now we have approx. $50mil of cap space to work with? That's working on half of the total cap.


PhilFree

Yes, It's unbelievable sitiuation to be in. I can't wait until FA starts.

[philfree]

Originally Posted by BigChiefFan

Yes, It's unbelievable sitiuation to be in. I can't wait until FA starts.

We are really close to being an expansion team with the early picks and the cap space for free agency.

PhilFree

[BigChiefFan]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

I have a feeling the Chiefs are going to make a splash when free agency opens.

We have to. We can't depend solely on the draft-it's nearly impossible to field a team solely through the draft in 7 years, with 7 picks each year it's still only 49 players in 7 years time and that's if EVERY PICK PANS OUT. I suspect, we will be looking for a couple of impact players and a few role role players in FA. I'm ready.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

I have a feeling the Chiefs are going to make a splash when free agency opens.

But are there any Linemen, Ends, Receivers, or LB's in the FA market that are worth spending the cash on?

Or, will they be shopping an every down back?

[DeezNutz]

Expect a lot of FA's, and I mean A LOT.

But don't expect a lot of big names.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by philfree

We are really close to being an expansion team with the early picks and the cap space for free agency.

PhilFree

And that's exactly why Scott Pioli is our GM. This is a house sweeping of the highest order.

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Expect a lot of FA's, and I mean A LOT.

But don't expect a lot of big names.

They're just stocking the fridge, looking for at least incrementally better players to help us get some wins in 09. Basically, babysitters on the roster to mark time until the 2010 draft, me thinks.
A LOT of rotation coming in the New Era.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by BigChiefFan

We have to. We can't depend solely on the draft-it's nearly impossible to field a team solely through the draft in 7 years, with 7 picks each year it's still only 49 players in 7 years time and that's if EVERY PICK PANS OUT. I suspect, we will be looking for a couple of impact players and a few role role players in FA. I'm ready.

Colts & Steelers will disagree with that.

[Chiefnj2]

So, Pioli cleared some room for Cassell.

[el borracho]

Originally Posted by jidar

... Also every person on this site was absolutely ecstatic when got him in free agency, ...

Not true, there were some of us that were and are adamantly against trading picks for players. As I said at the time, it was a stupid, short-sighted trade.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

So, Pioli cleared some room for Cassell.

Ahem...

[el borracho]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

We need to release a runningback so Edwards has a ride out of town.

Bringing back Edwards was another obvious mistake. Glad to see we're cleaning house.

[BigChiefFan]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Colts & Steelers will disagree with that.

While I like their approach, there's more than one way to get better. Ultimately, yes, you prefer the draft picks to pan out, but FA definitely has it's merits and I won't be disappointed if we make some moves to improve via FA or trade. Our roster is just as PhilFree mentioned, close to being an expansion team.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Expect a lot of FA's, and I mean A LOT.

But don't expect a lot of big names.

Yep pretty much. Place holders till we can replace them in the draft. Lots of Joey Harrington, Monty Beisel, Kevin Burnett, Ray Willis types.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Yep pretty much. Place holders till we can replace them in the draft. Lots of Joey Harrington, Monty Beisel, Kevin Burnett, Ray Willis types.

Total concurrence here.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Yep pretty much. Place holders till we can replace them in the draft. Lots of Joey Harrington, Monty Beisel, Kevin Burnett, Ray Willis types.

Especially if there's any thought at all of transitioning to the 3-4. This might be the year to get the wheels going on that, with 2010 being a more realistic goal to have any semblance of the necessary personnel in place.