The Chiefs may not have the money to bring back these three stars next season, for better or worse.
The Chiefs are entering a time in their franchise where the quarterback will be taking a major bulk of the cap space. Patrick Mahomes will be entering the first year of his 10-year contract in 2022, making a little over $35 million. Because of this, the Chiefs will have to cut players that either take up a lot of cap space and/or have underperformed in recent seasons.
Frank Clark is the first name that comes to mind when it comes to this topic. The Chiefs signed Clark in 2019 to a five-year, $104 million deal with the expectation he’d be a double-digit sack producer and consistent pass-rush threat. The 28-year-old has been extremely underwhelming with only 3.5 sacks in 2021. That type of production is not what you expect with such a high price tag.
Based on production alone, releasing Clark should be an easy move for the Chiefs this offseason. By cutting Clark, the Chiefs would save $12.7 million in cap space.