The Kansas City Chiefs have released veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on Wednesday, ending his two-year tenure with the organization. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the move will save the Chiefs $12 million against the salary cap. The 29-year-old Valdes-Scantling signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Chiefs in 2022, winning two Super Bowls during his time in Kansas City.
The wide receiver entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick out of South Florida in 2018, spending his first four seasons with the Green Bay Packers. In 2020 led the NFL with 20.9 yards per reception as a deep threat for then-Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and set career highs with 690 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Valdes-Scantling missed six games due to injury in 2021, but came back in ’22 to set a career high with 42 catches and finished with 687 yards and two touchdowns. He also had seven grabs for 122 yards and two touchdowns in the playoff; however, he finished with eight receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown in four contests in the playoffs. Valdes-Scantling had a 16-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter of Super Bowl LVII which gave Kansas City a 13-10 lead at the time, en route to their eventual victory in OT.
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