The latest
10 predictions for 2026 NFL season: Division winners, trades | ESPN
The Chiefs will miss the playoffs again
Two things I think are equally true. First, the Chiefs got better this offseason. Second, it isn’t going to be enough.
Kansas City’s roster is once again quite shaky. The Chiefs did a commendable job of building around their tentpole players (Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones) for a while. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s uncanny ability to turn middle-round defensive backs
into viable starters allowed them to endure the departures of Charvarius Ward, L’Jarius Sneed and Tyrann Mathieu. Offensive linemen were acquired — Joe Thuney and Orlando Brown Jr. — then quickly replaced.
But the well eventually runs dry. Jawaan Taylor was supposed to be a cornerstone at right tackle. Safety Chamarri Conner was supposed to be another Spagnuolo success story. Felix Anudike-Uzomah would bring much-needed juice on the edge. Wide receiver Hollywood Brown would alleviate the lost effect of Tyreek Hill. Contenders with pricey rosters must be constantly innovating in scheme and finding low-salaried contributors in both the draft and free agency. General manager Brett Veach failed to do his part, while coach Andy Reid’s offense grew stale.
Of particular concern was the Chiefs’ handoff game. It didn’t exist. In theory, physical downhill runners Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt would keep their shotgun-heavy offense on schedule, forcing opposing defenses to at least respect the ground game. But Pacheco and Hunt so painfully lacked explosion that defenses never had to fear a light box giving up a big run. The 2024 and 2025 Chiefs had two of the three least explosive seasons on running back carries this century.
Of course, the front office saw this and added Kenneth Walker III, a home run hitter and the reigning Super Bowl MVP. But ideally, running back is one of those positions with which a contending team wins in the financial margins. The Chiefs had to pay sticker price to sign Walker because of their inability to develop an alternative. That means they have less room for error in places like the secondary, where both Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie are no longer taking snaps. And at receiver, where Rashee Rice must once again be the load-bearing wall of a thin group.
ESPN retracts story about Chiefs Super Bowl winner and death of a woman | The Kansas City Star
ESPN has removed a story on former Chiefs defensive lineman Mike Pennel and the death of a woman in the Dominican Republic.
The woman, who disappeared in 2021, has been identified as Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche. The original ESPN story, which was published two weeks ago, said Pennel “had an ongoing relationship with a young woman whose body was found on a property he owned when she went missing.”
But ESPN now says the story had errors and as of Wednesday had taken it down. In place of the original piece, ESPN has a statement.
“Since the publication of the story, Pennel’s representatives have provided ESPN with documentation, including travel and financial records, supporting Pennel’s statements to ESPN that he was not in the Dominican Republic at the time the woman disappeared,” the network wrote.
Chiefs rookie shows off unbelievable physique ahead of training camp | Chiefs Wire
Rookie running back Emmett Johnson may be set to take the NFL by storm as a key contributor to the Kansas City Chiefs’ ground game.
While the former Nebraska Cornhusker is tentatively set to split carries with Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III in 2026, Johnson’s rare physical gifts and surprising finesse could force Chiefs head coach Andy Reid to consider an expanded role for the first-year phenom earlier than some analysts might think.
This week, Johnson took to Instagram to share a series of pictures that highlighted his impressive offseason physique, giving Kansas City’s fans an inside look at what they can expect to see when he takes the field for his pro debut in September.
Chiefs Having Quick Turnaround in 2026 Could Come at High Cost | Heavy on Sports
Kansas City Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo could re-establish himself as a HC candidate in 2026
Spagnuolo has actually been a head coaching candidate over the past couple of years, taking interviews from several teams. The most serious inquiry he had was from the Tennessee Titans, whose general manager — Mike Borgonzi — was a longtime executive with the Chiefs.
However, the Titans ultimately opted to hire Robert Saleh. Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus recently made a list of assistants who could raise their stock in 2026 as future head coaching candidates. If Spagnuolo can once again build a championship level defense with a new cast of young players, that may get him over the hump for a HC gig.
“Although Spagnuolo’s seven-year tenure with the Chiefs has produced some subpar units, he’s guided the team to three straight top-14 finishes in success rate despite experiencing personnel change. Spagnuolo’s knack for developing hidden talent is his best weapon, as reflected in players such as Justin Reid, Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook, Leo Chenal and many more.”
Spagnuolo’s defenses were a huge part of Kansas City’s dynasty run. In the early days, it was the offense that carried the team. However, over the last few years, it has been the defense that has been the backbone of franchise. A large portion of that can be attributed to Spagnuolo, who is widely regarded as one of the best assistant coaches of all-time.
Chris Jones is on the cusp of making some Chiefs (and NFL) history | Arrowhead Addict
And as far as statistics go, while not all defensive tackles are pass-rush specialists, Jones, who tallied just 8.5 at the collegiate level, has certainly proven to be one of the most dominant defenders in that area as a pro, racking up 87.5 in his 155 regular-season appearances, tacking on another 3.5 in the playoffs. But for the purposes of this piece, we’ll be sticking to the regular season.
With those 87.5, Jones currently sits third on the Chiefs’ all-time sacks list, but assuming he stays healthy, he’ll soon move into the No. 2 position, while obviously also improving his standing on the NFL’s overall all-time leaderboard.
Around the NFL
Bills WR DJ Moore buys out store’s entire stock of his shirts to give them away to fans | NFL.com
Acquired this offseason in a trade from the Chicago Bears, Moore was recently shopping at a Buffalo-area Mall when he spotted shirts with his name and number on them. Without telling the store who he was, the wideout bought all 27 shirt-jerseys for $1,200 and told the store to give them away for free to any fan who came in looking for DJ Moore shirts.
Assistant manager at Tee Shirt University, Scot Marshall, told WKBW that he didn’t recognize Moore.
“He goes, ‘OK, I’m buying it.’ I’m like, ‘What? Do you know the guy or work for him? ‘ and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I work for him,'” Marshall said. “He’s kind of joking around. So he buys them, he goes, ‘I’m going to leave them all here, if anybody comes and they want one, just tell them, DJ Moore bought it for them.’ And then he walks out the door, and he pokes his head back in and goes, ‘Yeah, it’s me.’ And he just walks away, and it was a very nice thing that he did.”
Off-the-field issues are jeopardizing Nacua’s early payday. Nacua tried to sneak live streamers into the Rams practice facility against head coach Sean McVay’s wishes late last season. During the livestream, Nacua performed a suggested touchdown dance with a gesture considered antisemitic, for which he apologized. A lawsuit was filed against Nacua in March alleging he bit a woman while intoxicated and made antisemitic statements on New Year’s Eve. Nacua spent time earlier this offseason in a holistic care facility to focus on personal growth and overall behavioral improvement.
There have been instances where off-the-field problems didn’t deter a team from giving a highly productive player in the final year of a rookie contract a new deal. It may be worth it for the Rams to explore a new deal for the Rams with an extremely team-friendly structure.
That’s what the Chiefs did with wide receiver Tyreek Hill in 2019. There were bigger concerns with Hill than Nacua. Hill was a fifth-round pick in 2016 primarily because of a domestic violence incident in college. The Chiefs banned Hill from offseason team activities in 2019 due to child abuse allegations relating to his toddler son until the NFL announced shortly before the start of training camp in July that he wouldn’t be suspended because it couldn’t conclude he violated the league’s personal conduct policy based on available information.
The Chiefs signed Hill to a three-year, $54 million extension right before the 2019 regular season started making him the NFL’s third-highest-paid wide receiver along with Odell Beckham Jr. at $18 million per year despite having more baggage than Nacua. Because of Hill’s baggage, the Chiefs protected themselves with the contract’s structure in case Hill had another misstep.
Chris Johnson brings back the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS research | Pro Football Talk
Former NFL running back Chris Johnson went public on Monday with his battle against ALS. He’s now hoping to raise as much money as possible for ALS research.
He’s bringing back the Ice Bucket Challenge, and he’s getting it started by designating three former NFL players to get a bucket of ice water dumped on them: Marshawn Lynch, Pacman Jones, and LenDale White.
You can do that, or you can make a contribution to ALS research. Or both.
Here’s the link to donate in honor of Chris Johnson to the research efforts at Massachusetts General Hospital.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
The day my Dad and I beat ‘the Boggs,’ and the Chiefs beat the Raiders
It was November 11th, 2006, the day of another matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the hated Oakland Raiders; more specifically, it was Raider week at Arrowhead Stadium.
We planned on arriving two hours before kickoff, but my dad and older brother were running late. My dad was supposed to bring the food, and I was in charge of the beer. I held up my end of the bargain and had a twelve-pack of PBR and another of Bud Light chilling in the fridge until they showed up at my house to grab me a little after 11:00 AM.
By the time we fought through traffic and parked in the gravel wilds of the Truman Sports Complex, it was 10 minutes before kickoff. There was no time for food, but we still had the beer.
Now, here’s one thing you should know about my old man: in his prime, he could drink with the best of them.
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