The Kansas City Chiefs underwent a lot of change this offseason.
The Chiefs traded starting quarterback Alex Smith to Washington and star cornerback Marcus Peters to the Los Angeles Rams. They saw offensive coordinator Matt Nagy leave to become the head coach of the Bears. They let Albert Wilson leave and signed Sammy Watkins for big money. They cut ties with longtime linebacker stalwart Derrick Johnson and signed Anthony Hitchens to replace him.
They may be about to experience even more change, as one of their best players for a number of years may elect to retire. Appearing on Sirius XM NFL Radio on Wednesday, Tamba Hali mused that it might be time to hang up his spikes.
"I just need to continue to work out and do my music," Hali said. "I don't want to focus too much on football. I don't see myself getting back into football. I see myself being involved with the Chiefs somehow, maybe as a specialist being able to teach the guys. I don't want to lie to myself. I think the time has come."
A rift developed between Hali and the organization last season as Hali's playing time was dramatically reduced and the team kept him on the sideline with an undisclosed injury for much of the season. He eventually returned to the active roster in November but barely played during the Chiefs' run to an AFC West title or during their playoff loss to the Titans. Once the season ended, Hali was released.
Still, Hali was a longtime standard-bearer for Kansas City's defense and for a period of time formed one of the NFL's most fearsome pass-rush duos along with Justin Houston. He made the Pro Bowl in five straight seasons from 2011 through 2015 and currently stands as the Chiefs' second-leading sacker in team history behind only Derrick Thomas. His desire to be involved in the organization in some way in the future is an interesting one, and it would be cool to see the Chiefs channel the Broncos and have Hali tutor young rushmen in the same way DeMarcus Ware is doing for their division rivals.