The awkward reality of Justin Houston and the Chiefs this offseason

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One day, Justin Houston will be invited back to Arrowhead Stadium. He’ll wear a suit. Clark Hunt will be there, at midfield during halftime. He’ll present a framed jersey. The PA announcer will go on and on about one of the best defensive players in a franchise history full of good ones.

He’ll watch as his name is officially added to the Chiefs’ ring of honor.

It’ll be a nice moment, and well deserved, and when it happens the awkwardness of the moment will have been forgiven if not forgotten.

Because right now, neither player nor team has done enough for the other, which means that with the Chiefs closer to the Super Bowl than any point in Houston’s life, he is now a member of the team in technical terms only.

He is an unwanted star player or, if you prefer, a former star who no longer fits.

The offseason began with at least a crumb of hope that the Chiefs could keep Houston. It would have required some combination of creativity, restructuring, faith and luck. The Chiefs’ defense is a wicked mix of aging, expensive and ineffective.

Houston is the first two in full, and enough of the third that a line of the right dominoes needed to fall for him to stay. It would appear that has not happened.

The Chiefs are shopping Houston, and now doing so publicly, with general manager Brett Veach telling reporters at the NFL combine that “there’s a lot of dialogue.”

Let’s be clear: receiving assets in exchange for a player they would likely have to cut anyway would be a tremendous success for the Chiefs.

Let’s be clear: Houston has probably played his last game for the Chiefs. The team could save $14 million in cap space with him somewhere else. He’s a good player, but not that good, not anymore, and the team has too many other priorities.

That’s the biggest development of the offseason so far — an all-time franchise great is likely on the way out just as the team reached the precipice of the Super Bowl and is finally remaking its defense.

This is simultaneously neither side’s fault and both side’s fault. You can blame either, blame both, blame none. Whatever you want, you can make a logical argument. Watch.

The Chiefs’ fault: they failed to surround him with enough talent.

Not the Chiefs’ fault: they paid him well.

Houston’s fault: he was too often injured with production unworthy of the new riches.