List of Chiefs 2013 free agents: Dwayne Bowe, Branden Albert and others

As they do every year the Kansas City Chiefs enter free agency with some serious questions that need to be answered that will help shape the future of the team. This year's free agency period is different than the past few years because we're operating under a new regime. So not only will there be the usual attrition, you'll see even more activity because new systems are being brought in.

The rules on free agency can be a little convoluted but the basic definitions are this:

Unrestricted free agency: a player with four or more accrued seasons
Restricted free agency: a player with three or less accrued seasons
Exclusive rights free agency: a player with two or less accrued seasons

Then there's "What is an accrued season?" and "What if the player was on IR?" and a lot of other things that factor into determining which players fit into which category. Here is the CBA definition of an accrued season:

A player shall receive one Accrued Season for each season during which he was on, or should have been on, full pay status for a total of six or more regular season games, but which, irrespective of the player’s pay status, shall not include games for which the player was on: (i) the Exempt Commissioner Permission List, (ii) the Reserve PUP List as a result of a nonfootball injury, or (iii) a Club’s Practice Squad.

Counting accrued seasons can get tricky but remember the six games part and that will take you a long way.

Free agency starts at 3:00 p.m. (Arrowhead Time) on March 12 and the Chiefs have decisions to make with these 21 players.

Chiefs unrestricted free agents

Dwayne Bowe
Branden Albert
Dustin Colquitt
Glenn Dorsey
Brady Quinn
Peyton Hillis
Travis Daniels
Abe Elam
Thomas Gafford
Russ Hochstein
Edgar Jones
Jake O'Connell
Brandon Siler
Shaun Smith
Leon Williams
Ryan Lilja
Ropati Pitoitua

Chiefs restricted free agents

Martin Rucker

Chiefs exclusive rights free agents

Steve Maneri
Kyle McCarthy
Bryan Mattison

The big ones are obvious -- Bowe and Albert. Dustin Colquitt and Glenn Dorsey are notable names, too. I can't predict that any of the rest of those players will return. No one, even the top guys, seems like a lock to come back. I'd bet Bowe or Albert comes back but both? I don't know.

Ryan Lilja scheduled to be a free agent but he announced his retirement already (insert Brett Favre retirement joke here).

Make sure you check out BJ Kissel's latest on what the Kansas City Chiefs should do at cornerback in 2013: