Chiefs Can Improve, Get Younger, and Save $6.2M, in 2 Easy Steps

by Laddie Morse | May 15, 2019

The Kansas City Chiefs can improve, get younger, and save $6.2M, in 2 easy steps by moving on from two players. The first one is highly likely to happen. The other is a lot less likely but could help in providing enough cap space to sign another impact player at a position of need as training camp draws closer. So, who are these two players?

Daniel Sorensen and $3.7M

Daniel Sorensen has been with the Kansas City Chiefs his whole professional career, from 2014 through 2018, and remains on the roster today. He’s played mostly a backup role at Strong Safety but has filled in and rotated in when necessary and done a good job overall. He’s been a player dear to my heart as he grew up 20 minutes from where I grew up. He’s from RIverside, California.

The deal with Sorensen is, he’s now expensadble at the Safety position. In fact, I think there’s a good chance he’s cut loose prior to training camp if the Chiefs come across another young SS who could fill his shoes in training camp. If not, he most certainly will be released before the season begins. With the roster already including 23 year old Armani Watts, another Safety who excels in the box who was a 4th round draft pick a year ago… and 25 year old Jordan Lucas, whose skills are more suited to the box as well, then the prospects that the 29 year old Sorensen would be kept are slim to none.

Juan Thornhill to Start

With 2nd round pick Juan Thornhill moving to the top of the Safety Totem Pole right underneath Tyrann Mathieu in the short time he’s been with the team, it’s clear that the Chiefs brass have drafted him to start next to Mathieu. With Mathieu, Thornhill, Watts, and Lucas all seemingly moving ahead of Sorensen, it appears his time in K.C. is soon to end.

What that means financially is, a $3.7M cap savings.

Dustin Colquitt and $2.5M

Dustin Colquitt is a Hall of Fame quality punter who would be difficult to move on from, simply because he’s that good. The Chiefs invested a 3rd round pick in 2005 on him because they thought he could be this good, and they were right. Colquitt has averaged 44.9 yards per punt over his 14 year professional career. So, how do I know Dustin Colquitt belongs in the Hall of Fame? Because he’s had a better career than Ray Guy, who’s already in the Hall. Ray Guy kicked for over 3,000 yards in 9 seasons, and once for more than 4,000… while Colquitt has kicked for over 3,000 yards in eleven seasons and over 4,000 four times. Plus, Guys 14 year career average was 42.4 yards per kick while Colquitt’s is 44.9 per kick.

So, why the possibility of the Chiefs moving on from him?

P Jack Fox is a Real Contender

So, Jack Fox would have to be pretty darn good to move on from Dustin Colquitt, right? Yes, and it looks like he is. No where on the internet could I find Jack Fox’ age but he spent all four years at Rice University and started three of those years so we know he’s at least 13 years younger than Colquitt. The big plus for Fox is his progression: he became the starter at RIce as a sophomore when he averaged 40.7 yards per punt. When he was a junior, he averaged 44.3 yards per punt. As a senior he averaged 45.5 yards per punt and he averaged more than 3,000 yards per year over his three years punting. Fox punt rate that pinned the opposition inside the 20-yard line was excellent and his punts landed there 74 times with only 23 touchbacks. Fox’ punts also have great hang time so forcing fair catches was excellent: 71 time in 212 career punts (33% of the time).

It’s hard to know when to move on from a player as good and consistent as Dustin Colquitt has been. I’ve been saying for the past two years, that it’s time to find the next Dustin Colquitt and I think Jack Fox could certainly be the man to replace, “The Man.” Take a look at Jack Fox’ punts, and tell me what you think?

If you go to the 12:30 mark of that tape, you can see that Jack Fox has become very adept at using the “Rugby Rollout” style of Punting and been able to land, with great accuracy, a number of punts inside of the ten yard line by doing so. By going to the 14:50 mark you can see that he’s also hd some success throwing the ball or running the ball on Fake Punt situations. Fox has also had enough experience in Kicking off to either force a touchback or pin the ball high and deep allowing coverage to make a play deep into the oppositions territory. Although he has been used as a Field Goal kicker he seems to regularly hook the ball and has only had 15 total Field Goal attempts. It looks like Fox can do it all and that may be a big reason why Veach brought him to the 90 man roster to begin with. Plus, we all know that Andy Reid loves guys who have Triathlon versatility on the football field. 

At this point, the most important opinion about Fox and Colquitt is probably coming from Dave Toub, the Chiefs Special Teams coach. If he gives GM Brett Veach the thumbs up on Fox-over-Colquitt in training camp, it means Veach can begin to plan a move to get more help at another position of need before the season begins.

The result of a change in Punter for the Chiefs could mean an extra $2.5M in cap space. That means, if they Chiefs move on from both Daniel Sorensen (a high probability) and Dustin Colquitt (less of a likelihood), they could, together, create $6.2M in cap space to sign another player who could provide some playmaking ability elsewhere on the team: maybe a such as CB Patrick Peterson — anyone, anyone, anyone — or a Tight End such as Kyle Rudolph — which could be sweeter sounding than Sweet Caroline at a Karaoke Bar.

What do you think? Should these two be primed for being cut or… should the Chiefs wait on would-be HoF punter Dustin Colquitt until he decides to retire?

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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