NFL Spin Zone
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One surprise cut candidate from each NFL team in 2021

By Randy Gurzi

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 01: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass during warmups before playing the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on November 01, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 01: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass during warmups before playing the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on November 01, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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NFL 2021
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JANUARY 12: Anthony Hitchens #53 of the Kansas City Chiefs is introduced prior to the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on January 12, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Kansas City Chiefs: Anthony Hitchens, Linebacker

After winning the Super Bowl following the 2019 season, the Kansas City Chiefs got back to the big game the following year. Unfortunately for them, they ran into the hottest team in the NFL at the time — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tom Brady and the Bucs picked apart the Chiefs defense as they won the Super Bowl in front of their home crowd, the first time a team ever had a chance to do so. Brady and the offense got all the love for their work but it was really the Tampa Bay defense that made life miserable for Patrick Mahomes and company, which is why they focused on fixing the offensive line ahead of 2021.

In doing so, they added even more to their salary cap as Orlando Brown, Joe Thuney, and Kyle Long didn’t come cheap. Their additions could lead to some moves being made, with one likely cut being linebacker Anthony Hitchens.

A former fourth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, Hitchens signed a five-year, $45 million contract in 2018 as the Chiefs were trying to rebuild their defense. So far, he’s been a solid player but he enters 2021 as the fourth-highest cap hit, according to OverTheCap.com, with more than $10 million counting toward the cap this season.

They could save more than half of that by designating him a post-June 1 cut, which is something that could happen especially after adding Nick Bolton in the draft.

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