SVU Sure Seems Like It's About To Lose Another Main Cast Member (& Honestly? It's Time)

To be fair, Velasco's confession doesn't exactly paint him as a cold-blooded killer. He explains that when he was a kid, he was seemingly forced into murdering someone for his "boss," and we know from previous episodes that he had a pretty rough upbringing. His exact quote was, "I've seen a lot of people get murdered. And the second my nuts dropped, my boss, he put a gun in my hand and made me blow this guy away. I've never told anybody that, until now." The fact he made sure no other detectives were around when he said it doesn't exactly help matters. That sort of statement may force his hand into leaving the unit, which would set the stage for Bruno (Kevin Kane) to take his place. 

"Law & Order: SVU" has a tendency to rotate through cast members. After Kelli Giddish left, Muncy was there to serve as a replacement of sorts. With Bruno making a good impression on Fin (Ice-T) as of late, it would seem he's fitting to serve a similar role. Granted, it's always possible that the unit could expand rather than replace, but too many cooks in the kitchen could spread storylines pretty thin, meaning not everyone could get the attention they deserve. 

It would make for a pretty quick turnaround if the writers were already planning on getting rid of Velasco. He first made his debut on the show in Season 23, whereas Rollins had been around since Season 13. But the show may be feeling the pinch of needing to find new ways to keep the show fresh as it's been going on for 20+ seasons. It's hard to say what direction it will go in next, as the teaser for the next episode didn't reveal much concerning Velasco's fate. But this is one plotline fans will no doubt keep a close eye on.