Hitchens' release creates $8.4 million in cap space for Kansas City. He signed a four-year, $45 million contract with the Chiefs in 2018. The 29-year-old linebacker started all 15 games he appeared in during the 2021 season. He racked up 80 combined tackles and four TFLs in his final season with the team. Hitchens will likely find a new home on a one-year deal.

Stuck on the team's COVID list as a close-contact since Week 16, Hitchens will only miss one relevant game since Andy Reid rested all key starters in the regular season finale against the Chargers. Hitchens has collected 78 tackles and one pass defended across 14 starts this year.

NFL Network reports Hitchens was a "close contact," and is not yet COVID positive himself. If that remains the case for the next five days, he will be eligible to play against the Falcons on Sunday. An every-week starter, Hitchens has played roughly two thirds of the Chiefs' snaps this season. 

The Chiefs' coaching staff made a successful attempt to limit Hitchens' defensive snaps to keep him healthy, sitting him for 239 more snaps than he rested during 2018. Hitchens did miss one game in the middle of the season due to a groin issue but the seventh-year linebacker was able to stay on the field for most of 2019. Unfortunately, the reduced snap count also detracted from his fantasy value as an IDP linebacker. It seems unlikely that the staff would opt to increase his volume again next year, so it may be best to view his value near what it was in 2019.