Twelve fantastic seasons playing in Arrowhead Stadium has put veteran pass-rushing extraordinaire Tamba Hali in the upper class of the league. There will be no 13th season.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Kansas City Chiefs are releasing the 34-year-old EDGE man prior to free agency.
Chiefs are releasing Tamba Hali, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2018
Despite Hali's prowess since entering the league as the 20th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, this moves comes as no surprise.
Kansas City is up against the cap as of this moment and high-priced defensive veterans were speculated about in terms of coming casualties. Hali fit the bill to a tee.
The Penn State product has been nothing short of remarkable over his NFL career, all with the Chiefs. He's piled up 89.5 sacks in his 12 seasons. Two of those 12, 2016 and 2017, his play significantly dropped off. In 2016, he played all 16 games yet started just two. A year ago, he started none while participating in just five NFL contests.
Other numbers on Hali's stat-line include 453 tackles, eight fumble recoveries, one safety, two interceptions, one touchdown and a remarkable 33 forced fumbles, most of which came on strip sacks.
Hali's current three-year, $21 million deal ran through 2018 and would have cost the Chiefs a $9.395 million cap hit had he still be employed. The release will cost the franchise $1.708 million in dead cap space but it's nothing compared to the hit that was coming.
Tamba Hali now enters NFL free agency as an unrestricted pass rusher.
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