Jawaan Taylor’s time with Chiefs got off to poor start because of broadcaster
By winning Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs not only got another Lombardi Trophy, but also were chosen to play in the first game of the 2023 season.
The NFL Kickoff Game against the Lions at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium was on NBC, and one of the new Chiefs players found himself in an unwanted spotlight.
Tackle Jawaan Taylor, who had signed with the Chiefs as a free agent, was a frequent target of NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth during that opener. Collinsworth thought Taylor was lined up too far off the line of scrimmage and at one point quipped: “There you see Jawaan Taylor playing slot receiver.”
Later, NBC rules analyst Terry McAuley talked about Taylor’s alignment being illegal for most of that game.
Taylor also was accused of false starts that weren’t called. After that, Taylor seemed to be under the microscope of officials in future games. Chiefs fans were not happy because they saw other offensive tackles doing just the same thing as Taylor.
And Chiefs coach Andy Reid said at one point that Taylor was being treated unfairly.
“Now that I’ve had the chance to look at it, I would double down more on what I said yesterday,” Reid said in 2023. “I just think they’ve got an eye on him, and they better keep an eye on everyone else, too. It’s to the point of being ridiculous. They got their point proved now out there to the world, so now let’s make sure that we’re staying consistent.”
Unfortunately for Taylor, the criticisms continued during his tenure with the Chiefs, which is coming to an end. The Chiefs are expected to cut Taylor to make room under the NFL salary cap.
Collinsworth again talked about Taylor’s alignment the following season, and it never really got better for him.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 8:12 AM.
