Kansas City Chiefs: Assessing 2019 Offseason
By Kole Berrey
Bad Move: Cutting Justin Houston
This take may be a little controversial, but the Kansas City Chiefs cut Justin Houston a year too early. I know they saved money against the salary cap, Houston is getting older, and that he has injury concerns.
The reason I didn’t like this move is because of the timing. The Chiefs are very much in a win now type mode. Even if they are set up for the future with young players, next season is seen as somewhat of a Super Bowl or bust.
Imagine a defensive line that fielded Justin Houston, Frank Clark, and Chris Jones? That would have been a NIGHTMARE to deal with.
Houston may not be what he once was, but he also wouldn’t be the main focus on the defense anymore. He would have seen less tight end and running back chips than ever last year. KC also could have used him situationally, which means less snaps that in turn would result in less wear and tear on his body.
The team could always have a combination of Clark, Houston and Jones on the field. In crunch time, having all three pinning their ears back would have been chaos for offensive units. Using a player that is making $20 million situationally isn’t exactly ideal, but the money here really doesn’t matter.
Some may say “well we are switching to a 4-3, Houston doesn’t really fit.” That thinking is overblown. Houston just signed to a team using a 4-3 scheme.
Besides, defensive coordinators mix and match their looks and personnel constantly. Houston isn’t exactly Dee Ford, either. He is bigger and stronger, and has always been a plus run defender. Health has always been Houston’s main concern, not play. In a year when the Chiefs need their defense to step up in a big way, having all of the playmakers possible on that side of the ball is going to be crucial.
Let’s go back to the money for a minute. I actually wrote before it even happened that moving on from Ford and Houston was the right move for the franchise. When I wrote this piece, I figured the Chiefs were going to turn the assets and cap space into new players via trade and the draft, and then use the rest to extend current players.
Two of those three scenarios took place.
The Chiefs added players through the draft and used its assets to acquire Frank Clark. Tyreek Hill and Chris Jones are without contract extensions, though. Kansas City is right around $25 mil in cap space right now, which is great. But cap space is like money when you die; you can’t take it with you.
If the Chiefs aren’t going to extend their big names, they should have kept Justin Houston and tried to make one more run with the veteran. They could have cut him next season with no harm done, or in the worst case scenario, cut him later in the year until an opportunity arose that they NEEDED the cap space for.