Chiefs To Release Tamba Hali

The Chiefs are going to follow through with a move expected for a while. They will release Tamba Hali, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

This comes after a season in which Hali did not play much and began it on the PUP list. Hali played in just five games, starting none, and did not record a sack. Kansas City re-signed both Hali and Derrick Johnson in 2016 to three-year, $21MM deals. Both will be gone by the time the franchise reconvenes for OTAs.

A release of the longtime franchise cornerstone will save the Chiefs more than $7MM. It will come with a dead-money hit of $1.7MM, but that is far less than it would have cost the team a year ago.

If Hali is indeed finished with the Chiefs, he will exit as the team’s No. 2 all-time sacker — behind only Derrick Thomas. The former 2006 first-round pick re-signed twice with the Chiefs and earned five straight Pro Bowl invites, from 2011-15, recording 89.5 sacks after his 11th season. Hali finished with three double-digit sack seasons — the last of which coming in 2013. Hali, though, has dealt with injuries for a number of years now and has not been in top form for a while.

The Chiefs still have Justin Houston under contract, and Dee Ford‘s injury guarantee will trigger is fifth-year option.

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