Why was Maclin Cut? How Will the Chiefs Survive? Possible Landing Spots?

In an interesting turn of events, the Kansas City Chiefs have cut two-time Pro-Bowl receiver Jeremy Maclin. Maclin was set to make just over nine-million dollars in 2017 in base salary. Maclin joined the Chiefs in 2015 after being cut by the Eagles and the Chip Kelley regime. He leaves KC with 131 catches for 1,624 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Why Maclin was cut is for an unfortunate reason: cap space. Kansas City was backed against the cap wall this upcoming season and needed to make some moves. With Maclin being a deep threat more often than not, Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid thought it best to save cap room based on Alex Smith's throwing potential.

It was only in 2014 when the chiefs did not have a single touchdown caught by a wide receiver. This is because of Alex Smith. In the following two seasons, Smith has not gotten much better when it comes to downfield passing. According to Brick Wall Blitz, Smith completed just 36% of his passes that traveled more than 15 yards down the field; and 33% traveling 20 or more. Of those passes, 48% were deemed "Accurate." Rookie Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Dak Prescott averaged 50% on passes over 15 yards and 54% on accuracy.

So why not cut Alex Smith? Smith is in the home stretch of his current deal that takes him through the 2018 season. This season, he receives a base salary of $10.8 million, almost two million over Maclin, who also missed five games over the past two seasons.

The real reason to not cut Smith is because someone needs to mentor rookie quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs traded up 17 spots in the 2017 NFL draft with the Bills to take Mahomes out of Texas Tech with the 10th overall pick. Mahomes has a good deal of raw talent and was quite the gunslinger with the Red Raiders. Mahomes threw for 5,052 yards in 2016, averaging 8.55 yards per attempt. Mahomes and second-year receiver Tyreek Hill could be a deadly duo down the line. But for this season, Mahomes will likely ride the bench with the expectation of learning the system and refining his game.

With the number one receiver gone, how do the Chiefs expect to pass at all? Believe it or not, pretty easily. Maclin ranked third in targets, yards, and touchdowns with Kansas City in 2016 (76 targets, 536 yds, 2 TDs). He was ranked behind tight end Travis Kelce and Hill. Luckily for the Chiefs, Maclin's stats are very similar to that of third-year receiver Chris Conley (69 targets, 530 yards, 0 TDs).

Kansas City also drafted Michigan receiver Jehu Chesson. At 6' 3", 203 lbs, Chesson will not be pushed around easily. In his final two seasons with the Wolverines, Chesson averaged 14.9 yards per catch and scored 11 touchdowns.

Besides these two guys, Hill and Kelce will likely carry the load for the Chiefs in the 2017 season.

Now where will Maclin go? Maclin just turned 29, but has shown to be a proven weapon for a good part of his career. I doubt that he is worth over nine-million a season, but there is a market for him.

The Browns would be my first pick based on the available cap room. Cleveland can give Maclin a similar deal to what Kansas City signed him to in terms of yearly wage. They need a receiver and this was on no one's radar this off-season. After losing receivers Terrelle Pryor and Andrew Hawkins, and considering the team is in full overhaul rebuilding mode, this would be a smart pick-up before next season.

Another option would be the New York Jets. After losing Brandon Marshall to the Giants, they could use someone opposite of Eric Decker or Quincy Enunwa.

The Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, San Fracisco 49ers, and Tennessee Titans should also look into acquiring Maclin to give their quarterback's a fighting chance in the passing game.