Mike Caliendo

Jawaan Taylor Not Certain To Retain Chiefs’ Starting RT Job; Latest On Team’s LG Battle

Jawaan Taylor carried considerable value as a 2023 free agent. Ranked third on PFR’s FA list heading into that league year, the four-season Jaguars right tackle starter fetched a player-friendly contract from a Chiefs team that paid up to replace Andrew Wylie.

The Chiefs gave Taylor a four-year, $80MM deal — one that brought an important date in March 2024. A rolling guarantee structure meant that if Taylor was on Kansas City’s roster by mid-March of last year, his 2025 base salary would become fully guaranteed. The Chiefs did not see Taylor justify the cost in 2023, but they were in no position to cut or trade him after one season. As a result, they are on the hook for his $19.5MM salary this year.

[RELATED: Josh Simmons Expected To Be Full Training Camp Participant]

Tackle issues hounded the Chiefs last season. Their tightrope walk to Super Bowl LIX featured four LT starters, as the team’s post-Orlando Brown Jr. setup there received more attention. Taylor has remained mostly healthy, and the former second-round pick made 19 starts for the AFC champions last season. Of course, Taylor has not played especially well in K.C. His 14 penalties last season ranked second in the NFL; that showing came after a 2023 season that featured Taylor being whistled for five more infractions (17) than anyone else that year.

Kansas City’s undoing in Super Bowl LIX brought worse optics compared to the team’s blowout loss in Super Bowl LV, as the latter matchup involved backup options at both tackle positions. The Chiefs had no injury issues up front against the Eagles, but their line endured an onslaught against a defense that did not blitz in the game. As a result of this rout, the Chiefs invested heavily at tackle by giving Jaylon Moore a two-year deal worth $30MM and then drafting Josh Simmons in Round 1. These moves may end up affecting Taylor.

Despite the lofty salary guarantee, Taylor could lose his starting RT job. The seventh-year blocker should not be considered a lock to retain it, per The Athletic’s Michael Silver. A scenario in which Simmons commandeers the Chiefs’ starting LT post and Moore earns the RT gig is in play. That would stand to provide an upgrade for the Chiefs, though both imports come with questions. Simmons fell to No. 31 because of a patellar tendon tear and character issues, while Moore did not grade well in limited duty in San Francisco. But Taylor’s struggles, which have also involved scrutiny on his alignment and phantom false starts, may point the Chiefs to preferring Moore take over at RT immediately — rather than after a cap casualty-based Taylor release in 2026.

The Chiefs also traded their most accomplished O-lineman, Joe Thuney, to the Bears for a 2026 fourth-round pick. They are giving 2024 second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia, whom Andy Reid quickly benched after he had won the job over Wanya Morris during training camp, an opportunity to replace Thuney at left guard.

Although Thuney drew a tough assignment by switching to tackle as the team’s emergency solution amid a string of failed options, he earned first-team All-Pro acclaim in 2022 and ’23. The Chiefs will need to brace for a significant step back at guard, though they will obviously hope improvement at tackle will help offset this.

The player who filled in for Thuney after his in-season move to LT, Mike Caliendo, is also competing for the left guard spot, Silver adds. A 2022 UDFA, Caliendo made six starts at guard last season and played in 17 games as a Chiefs backup in 2023. Suamataia did play 31 snaps at guard following his tackle demotion, but the former BYU tackle standout being given such a quick hook at his primary position and being asked to replace an All-Pro will be an interesting dynamic to follow as the Chiefs attempt to join only the early-1990s Bills as teams to book four straight Super Bowl berths.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/7/25

More teams made tender/non-tender decisions on restricted and exclusive rights free agents today. Here are the latest updates:

RFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

Carolina has tendered Mays with an original-round tender worth $3.26MM. A former sixth-round draft pick, the third-year center will be able field offers from the rest of the league. If an offer comes in, the Panthers would have the chance to match it or let the team sign Mays in exchange for a sixth-round pick. Mays started eight games in 11 appearances last year.

Houston flashed early, particularly when he tallied eight sacks in seven games (only two starts) for the Lions as a rookie. Since then, injuries and inconsistency have kept him from sticking in Detroit or Cleveland.

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

OL Notes: Bolles, Chiefs, 49ers, Texans, Jags

For a second time, the Broncos allowed Garett Bolles to play deep into a contract year before extending him. After the sides previously reached an extension agreement in November 2020, Bolles inked his second Denver extension days before the team’s Week 15 game. Talks did not begin until recently. The sides did not begin to discuss a new deal — one Bolles had begun to lobby for back in 2023 — until after the Broncos’ win over the Browns, 9News’ Mike Klis notes. While Bolles held Myles Garrett without a sack, the Broncos’ upcoming bye week presumably had more to do with the timing of the negotiations.

Bolles is now the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid left tackle. Like recently extended edge rusher Jonathon Cooper, he may well have done better by reaching free agency. But Bolles wanted to stay with the team that drafted him back in 2017. The four-year, $82MM contract includes $23.7MM guaranteed at signing and features a similar guarantee structure to the one Mike McGlinchey secured. If Bolles is on Denver’s roster by Day 5 of the 2025 league year, his 2026 base salary becomes guaranteed, per OverTheCap. As the Broncos have part two of Russell Wilson‘s dead money due in 2025, they have predictably backloaded Bolles’ deal. This is a rather extreme effort, as five void years (through 2033) are attached to this deal. Bolles will count $5.8MM on Denver’s 2025 cap and just $9.2MM in 2026; the cap hits balloon past $20MM after that.

Here is the latest from the NFL’s O-line situations:

  • Unable to find a reliable left tackle since letting Orlando Brown Jr. leave in 2023, the Chiefs are going with an emergency plan today. With recent signee D.J. Humphries declared out due to a hamstring injury he sustained in his Kansas City debut, the Chiefs are kicking Joe Thuney to left tackle. The left guard saw time at LT against the Raiders, who were besting second-year blocker Wanya Morris. Rather than go with Morris, the Chiefs are using Thuney at LT and backup Mike Caliendo at LG, per ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher. This will cut into the Chiefs’ elite inside trio, but with the team seeing Patrick Mahomes hit with more frequency in recent weeks, it will use this patchwork adjustment to stem the tide. A 2023 UDFA, Caliendo is making his first career start.
  • On the same note, the Texans are making a change. Right tackle Tytus Howard is moving back to left guard, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. Both center Juice Scruggs and left guard Kenyon Green are out. As a result, Howard will return to the position he primarily played last season. Howard has shuffled between tackle and guard as a pro; prior to his 812-snap 2024 at RT, he played all 408 of his 2023 snaps at LG. Second-round pick Blake Fisher is in at RT.
  • Trent Williams‘ recovery from an ankle injury has proven “a lot” slower than the 49ers expected, Kyle Shanahan said (via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner). The team is not ruling him out for the rest of the season. That said, San Francisco is now 5-8; shelving the All-Pro the rest of the way would make sense. Williams, 36, secured significant guarantees via a September reworking. He has not indicated a 2025 return will commence, but his through-2026 contract contains enticements to come back.
  • The Bears should be likely to be shoppers to fortify their O-line’s interior in 2025, with the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs rating that area atop the team’s list of needs. Chicago whiffed on Nate Davis and devoted low-end money to center. Left guard Teven Jenkins is a free agent-to-be who has not engaged in substantive extension talks.
  • Like Bolles, Walker Little secured an extension recently. The Jaguars revealed their long-term left tackle plan, post-Cam Robinson, by signing Little to a three-year, $40.5MM extension. The first two years of Little’s deal are fully guaranteed, per OverTheCap. That comes out to $25.94MM. Although his 2027 salary is nonguaranteed, the 2021 second-rounder did well on the guarantee front as he bypasses free agency.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/24

During a busy day of transactions and headlines, teams still had time for a few free agent tender decisions:

RFAs

Tendered:

RFAs

Tendered:

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/15/23

Here are Wednesday’s reserve/futures contracts:

Kansas City Chiefs

Philadelphia Eagles

The Chiefs will likely enter into extension talks with Creed Humphrey when the Pro Bowler becomes eligible in 2024, but they are also retaining their Super Bowl LIV and Super Bowl LV center starter. Reiter, 31, played for the Dolphins in 2021 but did not see any action for the Chiefs this season. The Chiefs cut Shelton after training camp but kept the veteran defensive tackle around on their practice squad. Shelton, 29, played in one game for the Super Bowl champions this season and will be set to collect a second Super Bowl ring; his first came in 2018 with the Patriots.

Allen, 28, put his track and field career on pause to attempt a football comeback, and the two-time Olympic 110-meter hurdle finalist resided on the Eagles’ practice squad all season. While the Paris Games are not until 2024, Allen ran 2022’s top 110 hurdle time (12.84 seconds) — which doubled as the third-fastest time in history — and will be on the radar to claim his first world championship in the event. This year’s World Track and Field Championships are slated for Aug. 19-27 in Budapest, so it will be interesting to see if Allen puts track aside for the time being or if the Eagles greenlight dual participation. The Bears did so for long jumper/wide receiver Marquise Goodwin in 2021, but that was for an Olympic Trials competition that did not conflict with training camp.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC West

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These BroncosChargers, Chiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Denver Broncos

Re-signed:

Signed to practice squad:

Kansas City Chiefs

Signed to practice squad:

Las Vegas Raiders

Released from IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed: 

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Chiefs Lower Roster To 53

In addition to their cuts of Josh Gordon and Danny Shelton, the Chiefs jettisoned a few vested veterans and a host of rookie-contract players. Here is how the defending AFC West champs moved their roster to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Carter came to Kansas City after starting all 17 Carolina games last season. The four-year Panther contributor signed a fully guaranteed one-year, $1.77MM deal, but was unlikely to have the same role he enjoyed in Charlotte. The Chiefs roster second-round linebackers Nick Bolton and Willie Gay, and they used a third-round pick on Leo Chenal at the position this year.

The starter for the Super Bowl-winning 2019 Chiefs team, Reiter returned after spending 2021 with the Saints and Dolphins. Things have changed at the center spot since Reiter was last in Missouri; the Chiefs have Creed Humphrey in place for what could be a long run as their starter. Reiter was with the Chiefs from 2018-20.

A former first-round pick, Coleman appears to be running out of time. The ex-Baylor standout has not played in a regular-season game since the 2018 season. Prior to signing with the Chiefs, Coleman was out of football for nearly 18 months.

Chiefs Announce Signing Of 10 UDFAs

After an impressive Draft performance, the Chiefs announced the signing of 10 undrafted free agents that will be joining their rookie class:

Beyond Ross, who we’ve posted on already, headliners of the group include Fleet-Davis, Ealy, Crum, and Oginni.

Fleet-Davis had his best year for the Terrapins last year totaling 1,026 yards from scrimmage and 9 total touchdowns. Ealy was a consensus five-star recruit for the Rebels. The smaller back averaged 745.0 rushing yards per season and 181.67 receiving yards per season while racking up 20 rushing touchdowns and adding 4 receiving touchdowns over his three years in Oxford.

Crum was a three-year starter for the Golden Flashes, leading them to two bowl games, not qualifying after playing only four games during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. In 31 games as a starter, Crum completed 67.41% of his passes, throwing for 7,012 yards and tossing 52 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He’ll compete for the backup quarterback position behind Patrick Mahomes with veteran-Chad Henne, Anthony Gordon, and Shane Buechele.

Oginni will make the move to America after coming up in the NFL’s International Player Pathway program in Nigeria. Despite being involved in a bus crash that killed three of his teammates, Oginni continued to train in Nigeria after his visa application was continuously denied. Oginni will get his opportunity in the big leagues and will have a chance to learn from one of the best in Travis Kelce.