Kansas City, Mo. ? The Kansas City Chiefs have restructured the contract of defensive end Tyson Jackson, freeing up space under the salary cap as free agency approaches.

Jackson has become a valuable part of the defensive line, but not the star the Chiefs hoped when they selected him third overall in the 2009 draft. Partly as a result of that high selection, Jackson would have made $14.72 million and counted $17.5 million toward the cap this season.

The details of his restructured deal were not available, but it should leave more flexibility for new Chiefs general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid to pursue free agents.