The Kansas City Chiefs have made a number of important moves for the future of the franchise this offseason, including hiring Andy Reid as head coach and signing Dwayne Bowe to a long-term deal and the personnel moves have continued, as the team released Eric Winston.
According to ESPN.com, The Chiefs released Winston on Wednesday in an effort to shed cap space, as he was set to earn a base salary of around $5 million next season. Winston confirmed the move on Twitter and talked about his time with the team this season.
"Just wanted to confirm that I have been released," Winston wrote on Twitter. "Even though it was an incredibly tough year on and off the field last year, I wouldn't trade the relationships I made in KC and the overall experience I had for anything. It was an honor to be a Chief ..."
Winston was originally drafted by the Houston Texans in 2006 after playing college football at Miami, starting 87 games for the tea, before being released in 2012. He signed with the Chiefs in March of 2012 and had an up and down season with the team.
The right tackle made news earlier this year when he spoke to the media about home fans at Arrowhead Stadium for cheered when Matt Cassel was injured at quarterback in a game. The fans were frustrated over his poor play, as he went 1-7 last season while starting.
Winston was angry after the game about the cheering and spoke emotionally to the media.
"We are athletes, OK? We are athletes. We are not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum," Winston said after Sunday's loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium. It's 100 percent sickening," Winston added. "If he's not the best quarterback, he's not the best quarterback, and that's OK. But he's a person. And he got knocked out in a game and we've got 70,000 people cheering that he got knocked out."
Cassel was knocked out of the game after a hit from Haloti Ngata while throwing a pass to running back Jamaal Charles and was on the ground for several minutes before walking to the locker room.
The move saves the Chiefs money and also may give an indication about what Reid and general manager John Dorsey will do with the number one pick in the draft. The team is expected to take an offensive lineman with the top pick after trading for quarterback Alex Smith from the 49ers and Luke Joeckel or Eric Fisher are the likely candidates.
There were reports earlier in the week that the Chiefs could draft cornerback Dee Milliner number one overall, but Reid has shown a preference for drafting offensive lineman early in the draft in the past. The Chiefs ranked fifth in rushing yards last season and after putting the franchise tag on Branden Albert, adding a prospect like Joeckel or Fisher would give the team one of the most athletic lines in the league.
The two players had solid showings at the NFL combine in Indianapolis and did not hurt their draft stocks for teams. Both will have a chance to show more to scouts at their respective pro days and it is likely the Chiefs will be looking hard at both players.
