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Ten-year veteran strong safety Jerome Woods, a onetime fixture in the Kansas City secondary who lost his starting job in 2005, was released by the Chiefs on Thursday afternoon.

	Woods

Woods, 33, appeared in only seven games in 2005, with two starts. He lost his starting job to Sammy Knight, who was signed last spring as an unrestricted free agent, and then was injured at mid-season. He recorded only two tackles for the year.

The addition of two young safeties in this year's draft, second-round choice Bernard Pollard of Purdue and seventh-rounder Jarrad Page of UCLA, helped make Woods expendable. The Chiefs coaches seem to like both of the rookies, who will be far less expensive as reserves than Woods, who had four years remaining on the six-year, $18 million-plus contract he signed in February 2004.

It had been rumored, even before the draft, that Woods' hold on a roster spot was tenuous, in part because he was not considered an optimum fit for the "cover two" defensive scheme that new head coach Herman Edwards is installing this offseason.

"It is always difficult to say goodbye to good football players and fine people," said Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson in a statement. "Jerome Woods certainly fits into both of those categories. ... He was a consummate professional on and off the field."

There figures to be at least a modest market for Woods, who could probably play a few more seasons as a No. 3 safety for someone, in free agency. Several teams continue to seek a veteran presence at safety and Woods, the Chiefs' first-round choice in the 1996 draft, will garner some consideration from those clubs.

In 128 regular-season appearances, including 105 starts, Woods amassed 720 tackles, five sacks, 12 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 15 interceptions and 49 passes defensed. A former University of Memphis star, Woods earned one Pro Bowl berth, in 2003, in his 10 seasons with the Chiefs. Most effective playing close to the line of scrimmage, Woods five times posted 70-plus tackles in a season.

The downside for Woods is that injuries have limited him to just 33 games over the last four seasons. He missed the entire 2002 campaign with a broken leg. Prior to that, Woods had missed just one game because of an injury in his first six seasons in the league.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.