The Kansas City Chiefs saved $2.7 million off their salary cap by releasing veteran linebacker Joe Mays.

The Chiefs signed Mays last year to be a starter at inside linebacker and help as a run defender but the move didn't work out as planned. Mays missed the first half of the season because of a wrist injury and started just three games after his return.

The Chiefs had the NFL's 28th best run defense.

The Chiefs figured to be in the hunt for inside linebackers even before Mays' release. Derrick Johnson is coming off a season in which he played just one game because of a ruptured Achilles tendon. He will turn 33 in November. Josh Mauga, who wound up starting all 16 games last year, is a potential unrestricted free agent.

The release of Mays only figured to intensify that hunt.