The Kansas City Chiefs began to rebuild at wide receiver Tuesday by releasing veterans Donnie Avery and A.J. Jenkins.
The Chiefs will save more than $4.7 million against the salary cap with the moves. Avery was scheduled to make $2.7 million in salary and $700,000 in bonuses this year, while Jenkins was set to make $660,000 in salary and $667,000 in bonuses.
Avery, 30, fell from favor with the Chiefs last season. He had surgery to repair a sports hernia in October, returned for a couple of games later in the season, and then was a healthy scratch for the final two games.
Avery never developed into the reliable deep threat the Chiefs envisioned when they signed him in 2013. In 22 games for the Chiefs over two seasons, he caught 55 passes for 772 yards and two touchdowns.
Jenkins also produced little in the two seasons after the Chefs acquired him in a trade from San Francisco for wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin.
Jenkins, 25, caught 17 passes for 223 yards and no touchdowns in 25 games with the Chiefs. He got a considerable amount of playing time in Avery's absence last season.