In sports, much like in life, actions speak louder than words.
Few moments offer a clearer window into how an organization views its roster than free agency. Teams spend millions of dollars to fill holes, and those investments reveal exactly how the front office evaluates its personnel. The draft does the same.
Training camp provides another revealing checkpoint. It’s the first real opportunity for fans to see how the coaching staff views its current options. Starting reps are limited. Time with the first team
is valuable.
So it stands out when surprise Kansas City Chiefs players get run with the first team, especially when that first team includes Patrick Mahomes. I wrote last week about two players, wide receiver Cyrus Allen and offensive tackle Kahlil Benson, whose opportunities with Mahomes caught my attention. At the time, I viewed those reps as more meaningful for their long-term outlook than for the 2026 season.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore Benson’s role on this team.
As best I can tell from following camp, Benson has opened virtually every practice as the starting right tackle. At some point, that has to carry weight. Rotating with the starters is one thing. It’s another thing entirely when you’re getting the same treatment with the first-team offense as Josh Simmons, Kingsley Suamataia, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith.
I wish I could say that gives me warm, fuzzy feelings. It doesn’t.
Benson is a fun story, but this development seems to say more about Jaylon Moore than it does about Benson. Last year’s $30 million signing suddenly looks like a sixth offensive lineman instead of a starting tackle. That’s not what the Chiefs thought they were buying.
If Benson really is winning this job, then Moore’s contract stops being just a roster decision. It becomes an expensive miss for a front office that can’t afford many of them.
I’ve said all offseason I’m confused by the buzz about the Chiefs’ interest in tackles. Why would they already look for an off-ramp when they paid so handsomely in the market for the player they hoped would be their 2026 stopgap for the only open position on the roster?
But the buzz wouldn’t go away. First it was free agency. Then the draft. National insiders kept linking the Chiefs to tackles. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
Now, I can.
Did the Chiefs know all along they were sold a lemon in Moore? And if they did, why didn’t they make a more aggressive push to protect their franchise quarterback coming off a serious knee injury?
The truth is the Chiefs have been hamstrung all offseason by last year’s free agent class.
Moore is on the books for $18.6 million this year. Only Chris Jones, Mahomes, Smith and Nick Bolton have larger cap hits for the 2026 campaign.
Kristian Fulton ranks seventh on the team with a $13 million cap hit. Moore and Fulton combine for $32 million against the cap.
Jauan Jennings, Jadeveon Clowney, Tariq Woolen and Jermaine Eluemunor signed for a combined $31 million this year against the cap. Only Eluemunor of that group is on a multi-year deal.
Woof.
The Chiefs are still paying for last year’s spending spree. Both figuratively and literally. Their cap hits are rising as their roles are shrinking.
Maybe none of this will matter. Maybe Benson instantly develops into an above-average starter, and the cornerback depth minimizes the risk of missing or whiffing on Fulton. That’s the optimists’ outlook, at least.
The reality is Kansas City’s cap situation leaves little room for expensive mistakes. Right now, the returns on last year’s free-agent class aren’t trending in the right direction.
Actions speak louder than words, and the Chiefs’ actions are revealing their updated view of how Fulton and Moore fit into their 2026 plans.
