On January 30, the NFL informed clubs that the 2026 salary cap would be set between $301.2 million and $305.7 million.
The Kansas City Chiefs are likely hoping the final number is as close to the maximum
as possible. Per Spotrac — now using an estimated $303.5 million cap — Kansas City is approximately $58 million over the limit with 54 players signed for 2026. All teams must be under the final salary cap when the new league year starts on March 11.
Let’s look at some likely paths for general manager Brett Veach to create salary cap space. As always, the salary cap should not be confused with the team budget; we have no way of knowing what internal spending parameters Veach may have to work around.
Cut candidates
Significant heavy lifting can be accomplished by moving off the final (non-guaranteed) seasons of three contracts.
Most observers expect right tackle Jawaan Taylor to be released. The four-year, $80 million contract he signed with Kansas City in 2023 has proven controversial due to his tendency to draw penalty flags. Although Taylor has been a solid blocker for the most part, his health is also in question. Taylor was listed on every weekly injury report in 2024 and 2025 with a knee injury before suffering a season-ending elbow injury in November.
While cutting Taylor would leave about $7.4 million in dead money, the Chiefs can open $20 million in cap space by moving on, so this feels like an expected decision.
Parting with defensive end Mike Danna — and saving $8.9 million — might also be a no-brainer. Danna’s snap counts plummeted in the season’s second half as rookie Ashton Gillotte’s playing time increased. The veteran finished with an underwhelming box score: one sack and 25 total tackles. Danna could also take a significant pay cut with the possibility of earning some money back through incentives.
Linebacker Drue Tranquill has $6 million in non-guaranteed earnings for 2026. While that is not an excessive amount for a player who was in on 85% of the team’s defensive snaps last season, the production could probably come at a lower cost. 2025 fifth-round selection Jeffrey Bassa is in-house, and linebacker is arguably this draft class’s strongest position.
Releasing tight end Noah Gray would open a modest $4 million — although almost a fourth of that would instantly be allocated to whichever minimum salary enters Kansas City’s top 51 figures. The Chiefs probably won’t cut Gray for immediate cap relief, although they could move on later in the offseason after other moves.
Kansas City could also approach Gray after the NFL Draft — when 90-man rosters are full, and most team budgets are spent — about taking an incentives-laden pay cut. After only totaling 178 receiving yards (and no touchdowns), Gray would be an easy player to build a contract around, with incentives considered “not likely to be earned” for cap purposes.
Don’t expect the Chiefs to release cornerback Kristian Fulton or tackle Jaylon Moore for cap compliance. While cutting the pair could open about $12.9 million in combined cap space, both players are owed their actual 2026 salary, meaning the Chiefs would risk paying them to play for another team. While neither free agent signing from a year ago played to expectations, the Chiefs would also be wise to keep both players at least for depth purposes at the bare minimum.
Restructures
Two Kansas City cap numbers loom large above the salary cap: quarterback Patrick Mahomes at $78.2 million and defensive tackle Chris Jones at $44.9 million.
Obviously, Mahomes’ number will be reduced. The bigger question will be if the Chiefs do another restructure (that could clear $44.4 million in cap space) or sign him to a new contract. Because Mahomes’ actual salary drops to an unrealistic $28 million in 2028, he is effectively only signed through 2027, no matter the seasons nominally remaining on the extension signed in 2020.
With no quarterbacks leaguewide in line for a new, massive contract this offseason, it may be time completely redo Mahomes’ pact with Kansas City in a way that frees funds now while creating a roadmap to navigate finances for much of the remainder of his career.
Jones is a more difficult question. The Chiefs may very well decide to restructure him again. Regardless of his status in team history, however, the front office needs to have some difficult conversations about the earnings Jones is due through 2028. With $35 million in guaranteed 2026 salary, Jones will remain in Kansas City at least one more season. While restructuring him could open as much as $22.5 million in additional salary cap space, leaving the number untouched would allow for more lucrative savings if the Chiefs were to move on completely in 2027.
The Chiefs could also open $12.5 million by restructuring guard Trey Smith and $8.9 million with center Creed Humphrey. The team may be hesitant to potentially raise Smith’s 2027 cap number to potentially $34 million, however. Humphrey will likely be an extension candidate again before his contract expires in 2029. Avoiding a restructure could maintain flexibility in the future to redo his deal. These are also moves the Chiefs could keep in their back pocket should cap needs arise later in the offseason or even after actual games start.
The bottom line
Kansas City’s current cap situation isn’t pretty, but it can easily be managed. A maximum restructure of Mahomes (or a completely new contract), paired with releasing Taylor, Danna and Tranquill, could quickly take the team from a $58 million deficit to a $20 million surplus. Other avenues exist for the Chiefs to fit almost any realistic signing under the 2026 limit.
The organization will make some early moves to be cap-compliant and to possibly be a factor early in free agency. Other moves, however, may wait until the team has a better idea of which players they can realistically sign — and how much salary cap space will actually be needed.
