Jeremy Maclin was a star wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles when Andy Reid coached there. However, when Chip Kelly came in, he purged the team of most of its high-priced stars and Maclin was one of the men shown the door. Maclin quickly reunited with Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs and played there over the past two seasons. ESPN reported that the Chiefs released Maclin on June 2 to save money.
Jeremy Maclin release
Fans shouldn't be surprised to see a few NFL releases. By releasing Jeremy Maclin after June 1st, the Kansas City Chiefs will save $10 million in salary cap space.
That will help Kansas City, who only had $3.5 million available to them before the release of Maclin.
According to Andy Reid, who brought Jeremy Maclin with him to the Kansas City Chiefs, it was not an easy decision. Reid said that he has grown close to Maclin both on and off the field over the years, and has a lot of respect for him as a player and a person. He wished him the best going forward.
Jeremy Maclin responded to the Chiefs release on Twitter. Maclin said that is was a "crazy business" and said that he appreciated the "Chiefs Kingdom," referring to the fans of the team.
Now that Maclin is gone, the Kansas City Chiefs will turn to Tyreek Hill and Chris Conley to compete for the number one receiver position.
Albert Wilson and De'Anthony Thomas are the other two receivers on the Chiefs' roster who have caught a pass in the NFL.
Jeremy Maclin's future
The Kansas City Chiefs really wanted to sign Jeremy Maclin, so much so that they lost a pair a draft picks for tampering with him. However, his numbers in 2016 were nowhere near where they needed to be to pay him the money they owed him in 2017.
After breaking out in 2014 with an 85 reception, 1,318-yard season with 10 touchdowns, Maclin followed it up with another 1,000-yard season in his first year with the Kansas City Chiefs. Maclin only played 12 games in 2016 due to a lingering groin injury and finished with 44 receptions for 536 yards and two touchdowns. With that limited output, it seems the Chiefs could not justify keeping him on their roster.
It likely won't be hard for Jeremy Maclin to find a new team to continue his NFL career. The Baltimore Ravens might be a team that could offer Maclin a starting role and give Joe Flacco a nice new target after losing Dennis Pitta to injury. The Detroit Lions are another team that could fit Jeremy into their scheme and offer Matthew Stafford another weapon.
