Chiefs release Jaye Howard, Seahawks should be interested

The Kansas City Chiefs released defensive lineman Jaye Howard on Saturday, saving $3.875 million against the cap. The Chiefs were only about $1.5 million under the cap prior to this, not enough to sign whatever rookies they draft next week.

Howard was a fourth round pick out of Florida by the Seahawks in 2012. Seattle released him after one injury-plagued season and he caught on with the Chiefs the next year. Howard didn’t become a regular until 2014, but then came out for 57 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2015. Kansas City signed him to a two-year, $10 million last year with almost $6 million guaranteed.

His injuries returned however and Howard missed half of the season, landing in IR in December with trouble in his hip flexor.

It would not be hard to connect a reunion between Howard and the Seahawks. The team has been looking for defensive tackle help in free agency after Tony McDaniel hit the open market, and this draft class is considered quite weak at the position. We already know that Howard fits Seattle’s profile at the position, it’s just a matter of his injury problems. On a one-year, non-guaranteed contract (standard to Seahawks free agents anyway), Howard makes a lot of sense.

A move like that would also bring back another member of the historic 2012 draft class, alongside Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, and Jeremy Lane, as well as former Seattle players Bruce Irvin, J.R. Sweezy, Robert Turbin, and Korey Toomer. The only two members of the class to not enjoy that much success are seventh rounders Winston Guy and Greg Scruggs, but even they were still on active NFL rosters last season. Incredible.