From the FanPosts -Joel

The Chiefs just finished demolishing the Broncos, 33-10 in a game in which the Broncos were never really competitive. As a bonus, the Chiefs clinched a playoff birth before kickoff when the Steelers beat the Ravens.

It's been three weeks since Jeremy Maclin came back from a groin injury, so it's worth checking in on his performance over the Chiefs' last few games:

Game Targets Receptions Yards Y/R TD Raiders 3 1 16 16.0 0 Titans 8 6 82 13.67 0 Broncos 3 4 9 3.0 0 Totals 14 11 107 9.72 0

So, one solid game sandwiched between two bad performances. Granted, the one catch against the Raiders was a big one, but overall he hasn't performed like a number 1 wide receiver.

This is significant because the Chiefs' cap situation this offseason will be tight. The NFL informed teams several weeks ago that the cap is expected to jump to between $167-170 million for next season. According to OverTheCap.com, the Chiefs have a just over $168 million in salary obligations for next season, meaning they would have, at most, less than $2 million in cap space. The Chiefs' two most notable free agents this offseason are also their two most potent weapons on defense and offense, Eric Berry and Dontari "Hungry Pig" Poe. Berry is likely looking to be the NFL's highest-paid safety, and Poe could reasonably ask for anywhere between $10 million to $20 million per year.

Maclin's performance the rest of the season is important because he has a $12.4 million cap hit next season. If the Chiefs cut Maclin this offseason, they would gain $5.2 million in cap space (with another $7.2 million in dead money). Or, they could designate him a June 1-cut, and gain $10 million in room (though I am unclear on the financial ramifications in future seasons). Because teams have to stay under the cap once the new league year beings, the June 1-cut designation would only be an option if Berry and/or Poe's contract talks drag on through the summer.

The argument for cutting Maclin would be that Berry and/or Poe are more valuable to the Chiefs. In Maclin's absence Travis Kelce put together the best stretch of games of his career, and Tyreek Hill emerged as a true all-around receiving, rushing, and return weapon. We're all clamoring for Chris Conley to get more targets, and Albert Wilson has had flashes. You could see where the Chiefs wouldn't necessarily need Maclin to still be effective passing the ball next season, but the Chiefs would need Berry or Poe to continue to be a good defense.

The argument against cutting Maclin is two-fold. First, Maclin is still an incredibly talented player. Conley and Wilson haven't been consistently impressive, and we still like them based more on their potential than what they've actually done. Second, $7.2 million is a lot of money to pay a player to not play for your team. Further (as observed above), I'm not entirely sure what the salary cap ramifications of the June 1-cut would be for 2018 beyond.

I'm not saying the Chiefs should or should not cut Maclin. But we should pay close attention to his performance the rest of this season. If Maclin has fallen behind Kelce and Hill in the passing game, that $12.4 million would be a very steep price to pay for your third pass catcher.