Per Michael Silver, there’s a chance Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor could lose his starting job after being a mainstay for Kansas City the past two seasons.
Silver recently spent some time with the team at OTAs and noted not only are the Chiefs incredibly high on first-round OT Josh Simmons, but his recovery from a torn patellar tendon last October is going well.
If Simmons is healthy and ready to play, Silver says he’s probably the favorite to start at left tackle. That leaves Taylor competing with veteran OT Jaylon Moore who the Chiefs inked to a two-year, $30 million deal this past spring.
Taylor was a prized free agent signing by the Chiefs just two years ago but he’s been more inconsistent than Kansas City would have preferred, particularly with penalties.
Had he not already had his $20 million salary for 2025 guaranteed, there’s a strong chance the Chiefs would have explored moving on from Taylor this offseason. As it is, improving at offensive tackle was a clear priority after the Chiefs were overwhelmed in the Super Bowl.
Kansas City will also have competitions at left tackle between Simmons and Moore and at left guard between Mike Caliendo and 2024 second-round OL Kingsley Suamataia, who started out as the starting left tackle last year before being benched. Caliendo started the Super Bowl after the Chiefs had to move G Joe Thuney to left tackle.
Taylor, 27, is a former second-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2019 out of Florida. He finished the final year of his four-year, $7,916,458 rookie contract that included a $3,777,424 signing bonus.
Taylor signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Chiefs as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. He’s due base salaries of $19.5 million in each of the final two years of the deal.
In 2024, Taylor started 16 games for the Chiefs at right tackle. Pro Football Focus had him graded as the No. 61 tackle out of 81 qualifying players.
We’ll have more on Taylor and the Chiefs as the news is available.
The post Chiefs Could Bench RT Jawaan Taylor? appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.