Exeter Chiefs have released eight more players following the club's promotion to the Premiership.

With four players already confirmed as leaving, it brings the total number of departures from Sandy Park to 12.

But that may not be the final total as it is believed several players remain in talks with head coach Rob Baxter as he assembles his squad for the top flight.

Heading the latest list of departures is club captain Alan Miller, who made 117 league appearances for the Chiefs after joining in 2003.

Experienced half-backs Clive Stuart-Smith and Danny Gray have also been released after three seasons with Exeter.

The three specialist full-backs in the squad from last season – Sean Marsden, Emyr Lewis and Steve Jones – have been shown the door.

Homegrown prop Shane Kingsland and University of Exeter student Toby Freeman, who rejoined the Chiefs midway through last term, have also gone.

They follow Matt Cornwell (Northampton), Sean Tomes (Bedford), Sam Blythe (retired) and Saul Nelson in leaving the club this summer.

Baxter said Miller had done a great job in the role of club captain to make sure they stayed on course for promotion, even though he missed most of the campaign through injury.

"Alan has been a perfect club man," said Baxter. "I remember playing with him when he first came to the club and he was a heart and soul player, someone you enjoyed playing with. Last season was probably his biggest test despite being injured and unavailable and then not getting back in because we had a settled side.

"He was club captain and he did that job to perfection – he didn't allow standards to drop behind the scenes."

Devonian Miller, 28, made only six appearances last season as he suffered cheek, ankle and wrist injuries.

Gray and Stuart-Smith were named in the matchday 22 more than any other player last term, with fly-half Gray appearing in 34 of the 36 matches and Stuart-Smith 33.

However, they only made 13 and 10 starts respectively as they fell behind Gareth Steenson and Haydn Thomas in the pecking order. Jones only joined the club in January.

Baxter said every player who played during the last campaign could take pride from the part they played in helping the Chiefs clinch promotion.

"I had a meeting with the squad early in the season and I said every player who played a single minute of a single game would have played a part in our season," he said. "We only lost three games during the normal league part of the season and that was a fantastic achievement by the whole squad."