The Chiefs cycled through four left tackle starters last season, seeing their final O-line form — one with Joe Thuney kicking out to LT — shredded in Super Bowl LIX. Big changes came on the left side of Kansas City’s front this offseason, with two LT options added and Thuney traded to Chicago.
Kansas City first added Jaylon Moore on a two-year, $30MM deal and then drafted Josh Simmons in Round 1. The Chiefs had not drafted an O-lineman in Round 1 since Andy Reid‘s first draft, when Eric Fisher — as part of an underwhelming 2013 prospect pool — was drafted first overall. The Chiefs have not been able to find a long-term replacement for Fisher, whose tenure wrapped in 2020, but Simmons is moving toward locking down the job despite entering the offseason with injury concerns.
Coming back from a patellar tendon tear that affected his draft stock (along with character concerns), Simmons is taking regular first-team snaps at left tackle and looking likely to open the season there. That would leave Moore in limbo. Moore would be an overpriced backup, at $15MM per year, but Jawaan Taylor‘s 2025 salary guarantee would place him as such as well. Taylor is due a fully guaranteed $19.5MM this season. The Chiefs are experimenting with a “best five” scenario that could keep Moore among the top quintet.
Moore has seen reps at left guard, according to ESPN.com’s Nate Taylor. Mike Caliendo and 2024 second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia, converted from tackle after an early-season benching last year, had been viewed as the LG competitors in St. Joseph, Mo. (the Chiefs’ training camp home), but Moore’s presence would change the equation. Nate Taylor notes Moore and Suamataia look to represent the primary competition here.
This presents an interesting competition since both players have not logged notable reps at guard. Moore has logged 827 career offensive snaps; all have come at either left or right tackle. Suamataia played 31 guard snaps as a rookie. Moore established a nice market by filling in for Trent Williams last year. Though advanced metrics did not view him favorably, the Chiefs pounced. It would be odd if Moore became a backup, but with Simmons taking all the first-team LT reps (per Taylor), that is a realistic outcome here.
The Chiefs handed Suamataia their Week 1 LT job last year, but after a poor showing against Trey Hendrickson in Week 2, the BYU product did not receive another chance. The Thuney trade, however, led to the Chiefs trying him at guard.
Taylor could be released with modest dead money in 2026, as no guarantees remain on his deal after this year. The penalty maven has underwhelmed on a $20MM-AAV contract, not justifying his contract, but he did play through a knee injury last season. Taylor underwent arthroscopic surgery to address a knee ailment sustained in Week 5 last season, Nate Taylor adds. Jawaan Taylor said he did not consider surgery in-season on what he called a partially torn meniscus; the ex-Jaguar did not miss any games due to injury last year.
Taylor began Chiefs camp on the active/PUP list, giving Moore some work at a more familiar position. But Taylor is expected to keep the RT gig. A 2026 Chiefs O-line configuration housing Simmons at LT and Moore at RT, after a Jawaan Taylor release, has surfaced as a potential outcome. For now, Taylor — Pro Football Focus’ No. 61 tackle last season — will be positioned for a third season as the Chiefs’ RT starter.
15 mill for a backup tackle, only to move him to guard? Rough