KC Chiefs: Releasing Jeremy Maclin not a bad decision after all

The KC Chiefs upset many last offseason when they released wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. After Maclin disappointed in Baltimore, however, the decision doesn’t look so bad.

When Jeremy Maclin signed with the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2015 season, fans were stoked. Here was a local guy who willingly wanted to come and play for the Chiefs.

After just two seasons as a Chief, however, Maclin underperformed. He had a nice 2015 campaign, hauling in over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns, but had a disappointing year in 2016, which was plagued by injuries. He ended 2016 with just 536 yards and two touchdowns.

John Dorsey shocked the football world last summer when he released Maclin after just two years into his initial five-year contract. People were not pleased with this decision and not long after, Dorsey was also let go from his role in Kansas City.

The main source of anger for Maclin’s release was that the KC Chiefs didn’t have any other top receiver options at the time. That forced Tyreek Hill into that number one role with Chris Conley as the second receiver.

As we found out this season, Hill actually did pretty well as the Chiefs go-to receiver. While Conley was injured early on in the season, Albert Wilson stepped up big time and became the second receiver for the offense.

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Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens had signed Maclin before the 2017 season and he had a very disappointing year for his new team. The former Missouri wideout had just 40 receptions for 440 yards and three touchdowns. He appeared in 12 games for the Ravens, but didn’t do what he was signed to do there.

As angry as Chiefs fans were with the release of Maclin, had he still been in Kansas City and had that type of production, we’d be wanting the team to release him now. The Ravens are likely going to cut him and it makes the Chiefs’ decision to do so look much smarter now.

The way Dorsey handled the release was the biggest story, as he reportedly didn’t have the courtesy to tell Maclin to his face. He instead released the receiver via voicemail, which is a huge “D” move. That basically sealed Dorsey’s fate as the KC Chiefs general manager.

Dorsey may have struggled with the financial aspect while acting as the GM in Kansas City, but perhaps letting Jeremy Maclin go was one of his smarter decisions. The Chiefs did just fine without him in the passing game this year after all and it would have been unlikely that he’d have been around for the start of the Patrick Mahomes era anyway.

Tyreek Hill and Albert Wilson became what the Chiefs needed this year and while we hated to see Maclin go, it ended up not being such a bad move.

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