Here’s the Chiefs’ 2026 outlook if they release offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs face roughly $58M in 2026 cuts; Mahomes restructure likely.
- Releasing Jawaan Taylor would save about $20M while costing $7M dead money.
- Jaylon Moore, Esa Pole or a Day‑3 tackle prospect could fill the right spot.
The Kansas City Chiefs have much work to do to get under the 2026 salary cap, even with Friday’s report that the cap expected to rise from $279.2 million to somewhere around $303 million.
Estimates point to the Chiefs needing to shave nearly $58 million to get there, making a contract-restructure for star quarterback Patrick Mahomes — whose cap number is currently $78 million — an obvious next step.
Another obvious move would be the release of right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
After his rookie contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars ended in 2022, Taylor signed a four-year, $80 million deal to join the Chiefs as their starting right tackle. With three seasons behind him, Taylor now carries a $27 million cap hit for 2026.
Releasing him would save the Chiefs $20 million while leaving $7 million in dead money.
So where would that leave next year’s offensive line?
Look no further than Kansas City’s Week 14 game against the Houston Texans for a possible answer. With the Chiefs needing to run the table with five wins to close the season, the most discussed part of that matchup was head coach Andy Reid’s offensive line shuffle.
With Josh Simmons and Taylor injured, Reid surprised many by starting Wanya Morris at left tackle and Jaylon Moore at right tackle. Even after Morris suffered a season-ending knee injury on the game’s first play, Reid kept Moore on the right side and inserted Esa Pole at left tackle.
Earlier in the season, Moore started four games at left tackle while Josh Simmons was on leave. He then started at right tackle in Weeks 14 and 15 before a knee injury cost him Weeks 16 and 17. He returned for six snaps in Week 18.
Moore struggled against the Texans, allowing eight pressures on 41 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He allowed just one pressure the next week (before his injury) on 14 pass-blocking snaps against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In 2026, Moore will be entering Year 2 of the two-year, $30 million deal he signed last offseason. Interestingly, he carries the sixth-highest cap hit on the team.
With that in mind, if Kansas City pencils in the 28-year-old as its right tackle, a short-term extension could help spread that cap number over the next few seasons. That will be among the moves Chiefs general manager Brett Veach will have to consider as the league approaches the start of its new year on March 11.
Jawaan Taylor in Kansas City
After the season, Taylor posted to his official Instagram account.
“Not the ending we imagined,” he wrote. “But I’m thankful for the opportunity, the grind, the lessons, and the fans who never wavered. Through wins, losses, and everything in between Chiefs Kingdom showed up. That never goes unnoticed. Forever Grateful.”
That reads like it’s from a player who knows the writing is on the wall. If this is indeed the end of his Chiefs’ tenure, it is likely to be remembered more for Cris Collinsworth’s opening-night spotlight in 2023 — and the untimely penalties that followed — than for being part of a line that allowed no sacks in a Super Bowl LVIII win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
While Taylor proved an upgrade over Andrew Wylie and cut down on his penalties over time, his sixth-highest, $20 million number among right tackles is too rich when the Chiefs are so far over the cap.
The 2026 outlook
If the Chiefs move on, they are looking at a projected starting line of left tackle Josh Simmons, left guard Kingsley Suamataia, center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith and then Moore.
Esa Pole could compete with Moore for the starting position, and Kansas City still has Hunter Nourzad, Mike Caliendo, Chu Godrick and CJ Hanson around as depth.
The Chiefs currently have six draft picks, and with greater needs — such as pass rusher, running back and defensive back — it is unlikely they’ll choose to spend any of next year’s Day 1 or Day 2 selections on an offensive lineman. But a tackle prospect with good traits on Day 3 makes sense.
