It seems cap causality season is officially here with former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill being cut by the Miami Dolphins, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. This isn't where Miami ended, though, as the front office also cut veteran defensive end Bradley Chubb to continue opening up cap space.
For Kansas City players, they should consider themselves put on notice that it is officially the season of teams parting ways with underwhelming veterans to open up needed cap space. For Mike Danna, this should be especially noteworthy, given that the defender appears to be on his way out the door.
To help understand the situation, Over The Cap projects the Chiefs to have negative cap space, -$54.9 million to be exact, heading into the offseason. This brings us to Danna, who, to put it simply, isn't living up to his contract and is offering extremely limited production. The numbers back that up, as this past season, Danna finished with one sack and wasn't a consistent factor in Kansas City's pass rush.
Cutting Danna appears to be a no-brainer in examining the details of the pass rusher's contract, via Spotrac. If the Chiefs were to make the move today or any time in the offseason, it would open up an additional $8.9 million in cap space and only a $2.1 million dead cap hit. This is a tempting move even if Danna was producing at the expected levels. The defender struggling to do that only makes it close to impossible not to pull the trigger on the potential roster cut.
Early-Season Roster Cuts Appear to Seal Mike Danna's 2026 Chiefs Fate
Danna has previously offered production for the defense, recording 6.5 sacks in 2023 and 3.5 sacks in 2024. The issue here is the continual regression compared to a scheduled cap hit of $11.1 million in the 2026 season if Danna were to remain rostered. This appears an impossibility, even if a re-signing remains a possibility after a potential cut.
The pass rusher is familiar with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's system and isn't going to be in high demand after offering a lone sack a season ago. This leaves a cheap re-signing possible even after the expected roster cut. For the Chiefs, the lack of open space makes this an extremely easy decision as they look to get under the cap by cutting failing veterans and restructuring top-dollar contracts.
In truth, cutting Dana is one of the easiest offseason decisions the Chiefs will face. This isn't meant as a shot at the edge rusher, but rather the reality of a cap-strapped team deciding the fate of an underwhelming pass rusher. Danna didn't do enough a season ago to keep his roster spot safe, and Miami's early offseason cuts should serve as a signal to Danna that he is living on borrowed time.