With the Scouting Combine coming up next week and free agency slated to begin in mid-March, teams have started the process of shaping their rosters for 2022.
That includes making veteran cuts, one of which the Chiefs announced on Tuesday.
Kansas City has released linebacker Anthony Hitchens after four seasons with the team. The move will clear $8.4 million in cap space and cost $4.2 million against the cap for 2022. Hitchens had no more guaranteed money left on the five-year, $45 million deal he signed in 2018.
“When I first became General Manager, one of the first moves I wanted to make was to bring in Anthony Hitchens from Dallas,” General Manager Brett Veach said in a statement. “We knew how intelligent, hard working and consistent he was as a player, and we knew he’d become a selfless leader. He was that and more. He has all the intangibles and was an integral piece in our franchise winning a Super Bowl title. We appreciate everything he’s done for the organization and wish him the best as he continues his career.”
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to coach Anthony over the last four years,” head coach Andy Reid added in the team’s release. “He’s as tough as they come in this league and is a team-first player. I appreciate the way he came to work, ready to do his part, but also his willingness to teach the younger guys around him.”
Hitchens played 60 percent of Kansas City’s defensive snaps in 2021, recording 80 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and an interception.
Hitchens, 29, started 59 games for the Chiefs over the last four seasons. He entered the league as a Cowboys fourth-round pick in 2014.
