Jeremy Maclin surprisingly cut by Chiefs

This is not a joke: the Kansas City Chiefs released Jeremy Maclin on Friday evening, according to an official announcement from the team. Talk about a news dump!

Maclin was released due to money reasons. The 29-year-old wide receiver had a $12.4 million cap hit and the Chiefs saved significant cap space by cutting him.

Maclin dealt with a groin injury for most of the 2016 season. He was limited to 44 receptions for 536 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games played.

There was some talk about Maclin being cut earlier this offseason, but it didn’t seem super likely at the time. Clearly the Chiefs felt Maclin wasn’t worth his cap hit.

With Maclin back on the market, it’s fair to wonder if the Eagles will have interest in bringing him back to Philadelphia. The Eagles signed both signed two wide receivers in free agency (Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith) and picked two wide receivers in the 2017 NFL Draft (Mack Hollins, Shelton Gibson), but that shouldn’t completely preclude them from pursuing another potential upgrade.

Maclin had a nice five-year stint with the Eagles after being selected by Philadelphia in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Then Maclin left the Eagles to sign with the Chiefs in free agency following his career season in 2014.

It’ll be interesting to see where Maclin lands.