The Kansas City Chiefs front office has some serious numbers to crunch. When looking at the available salary cap space coming into 2026, no franchise looks to be in worse shape than K.C., which makes retooling following a six-win season feel like a true uphill climb. But perhaps projections are a bit too dire.
Yes, the Chiefs currently sit at No. 32 overall—dead last—in projected cap space, at $62.6 million over the cap at the present time. That's a scary proposition for a team with obvious roster needs across the offense and defense. From running back to wide receiver, from tight end to defensive end, from cornerback to safety, general manager Brett Veach has a lot of concerns to address.
That said, the NFL's cap is a fluid thing, and a GM has the means to get around this and to alleviate that. That's true even for a team so far behind the others. (For some perspective, the Tennessee Titans are No. 1 overall with $92 million in cap space projected for 2026).
The Kansas City Chiefs rank last in available cap space for now, but general manager Brett Veach has some options available to him.
Plenty of cap space can be cleared by releasing some disproportionately expensive players. Jawaan Taylor is the most commonly mentioned possibility here, as the right tackle is scheduled for a $27 million cap hit in 2026. However, even without releasing anyone, the Chiefs can still get their heads above water when looking at their current deficit.
Player Name | $ freed up w/ restructure |
|---|---|
Patrick Mahomes | $44.36M |
George Karlaftis | $7.94M |
Trey Smith | $12.52M |
Creed Humphrey | $8.86M |
Restructuring the contract of Patrick Mahomes occurs every few years because it's the Chiefs' single most effective option to ease the cap burden. A restructure of Mahomes this year could net more than $44 million in cap space, and it's almost guaranteed that Veach will push this button sooner than later in order to put the Chiefs in position for some offseason shopping.
While Mahomes' expected restructured deal is, in itself, almost enough to bring the Chiefs back to the positive end, there are a few younger players with recently signed extensions that present some restructuring possibilities as well.
Trey Smith landed a new contract last summer, making him (temporarily) the highest-paid guard in the game. While he dealt with some injury concerns this year, his history as an ironman and his elite-level play at 27 make him a solid bet for a reworked deal to free up more money. The same thing can be said of defensive end George Karlaftis, who is even younger at 25, and Creed Humphrey, who remains the best center in the game after just his fifth season in the NFL. These factors are important to consider because restructuring a deal pushes the financial hits into the future.
In some of these cases, it's helpful that the Chiefs have younger options up front along the offensive line to counter the costs of Humphrey and Smith. Josh Simmons looks like a franchise left tackle and will be on a rookie deal through 2028 with a fifth-year option for 2029. Kingsley Suamataia is on a rookie deal as a second-round pick in 2024, which makes him quite affordable at left guard through 2027.
The Chiefs don't have to restructure all of these deals, and it's possible that others are considered (Nick Bolton?), but the options are there. A quick glance makes it look like the Chiefs are handcuffed this offseason, but that's not the case. After a few moves, Veach will have at least some money for a shopping list that's longer than it should be.