Chiefs release offensive lineman Ben Grubbs, gain small amount of cap room

The Chiefs acquired Ben Grubbs via trade last year in an effort to improve their offensive line, but that experiment came to an end on Thursday when the club announced he has been released.

Grubbs’ 2016 cap number was $6.3 million, so the Chiefs will have a significant amount of dead money — $5.2 million — with the move. The are expected to gain a small amount of cap room, however; salary cap expert Joel Corry projects the savings as $1.1 million, as OverTheCap.com.

Grubbs, who is listed at 6 feet 3 and 310 pounds, started seven games in 2015 before he missed the rest of the season with a neck injury. Prior to the beginning of the year, Grubbs, 32, had started 118 of 122 possible games in his career.

Grubbs, who was released with the failed physical designation, was acquired in a trade with the Saints for a fifth-round pick in last year’s draft. New Orleans used the pick to draft Fresno State nose tackle Tyeler Davidson, who finished his rookie season with 18 tackles and 1  1/2 sacks.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, handed Grubbs a four-year extension worth $24 million, with $8 million guaranteed, with the thought that he could bring the line some much-needed stability.

But with Grubbs’ release — and the free-agent defection of his replacement at left guard, Jeff Allen — they still have three players who logged regular-season snaps for them at guard in 2015, including their 2015 starter at right guard, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, their 2014 starter at right guard, Zach Fulton, and Jah Reid, who started 10 games last year, including a few at right guard.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Chiefs release offensive lineman Ben Grubbs, gain small amount of cap room."