Chiefs may already have a plan in place for post-Jawaan Taylor era

The Kansas City Chiefs are moving on from right tackle Jawaan Taylor.

It was reported early Monday morning that Taylor is expected to be a cap casualty for Kansas City. 

He has one year remaining on a four-year, $80 million deal, but the Chiefs can save $20 million against the salary cap by cutting him at the start of the new league year.

Taylor, 28, is a good pass blocker and a big guy to have on the offensive line at 6-foot-5, 330 pounds. The Chiefs needed to get under the salary cap by March 11, though, and there's a world in which they will be better off without Taylor.

He committed 49 penalties in just 45 games, so he may have been a net negative despite the things he did bring to the table.

What can the Chiefs do after moving on from Jawaan Taylor?

The good news for the Chiefs is that you could argue that they've planned for this release. 

Last offseason, they signed 6-foot-4, 311-pound offensive tackle Jaylon Moore to a two-year, $30 million deal.

Moore was expected to be a starter on the offensive line, but the Chiefs drafted Josh Simmons with pick No. 32 in the 2025 NFL Draft, which pushed Moore down the depth chart.

He was a valuable backup for the Chiefs, though. When Simmons missed time with a personal matter as well as an injury, Moore stepped in at left tackle. He can play right tackle as well, of course, and Nate Taylor of ESPN is now reporting that Moore is expected to be Kansas City's starter at right tackle in 2026.

In all, he took 283 snaps at left tackle and 132 at right tackle in 2025.

Moore is a former fifth-round pick out of Western Michigan, selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the 155th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He checks in at 6-foot-4, 311 pounds, so the Chiefs won't be losing much in size going from Taylor to Moore.

Perhaps most important for the Chiefs, Moore committed not one penalty in his 415 total snaps played last season. Going from over one penalty per game on average with Taylor to zero is going to be a big upgrade for Kansas City.

The 2026 season is his final under contract with the Chiefs, and he's set to make $14.2 million in base salary.