Seats don’t get much hotter than the one Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray finds himself sitting on heading into the new season. Gray is literally playing for his future in Kansas City, and possibly his future in the NFL itself. No biggie.
Two years ago, it seemed like Gray had established himself as the heir apparent to Travis Kelce. Not necessarily to become one of the greatest tight ends ever, but to at least be Kansas City’s TE1 once Kelce retires. Now, I’m not so sure.
A breakout 2024 season saw Gray post career highs in targets, receptions, yards, touchdowns, first downs, and success rate, and it earned him a three-year, $18 million extension with the Chiefs that offseason. But the 27-year-old followed up the best year of his career in 2024 with the worst he’s ever had in 2025.
In 2025, Gray had the fewest yards (178), receptions (21), first downs (nine), starts (six), yards per game (11.1), and yards per target (4.8), as well as the highest drop percentage (8.1%), since his rookie season. His zero touchdowns and 32.4 percent success rate were both career lows.
It was a monumental drop-off in production, and Gray was one of Kansas City’s biggest disappointments last season. His underwhelming performance and relatively large cap hit—$6,970,000 in 2026 and $7,000,000 in 2027, a lot to pay for less than 200 yards—meant he almost became a cap casualty this offseason. If he doesn’t improve, he will almost certainly become one next year.
That leaves Gray with 17 games to make his mark and prove his value to the team. But what makes his situation even tougher is the huge impending need the Chiefs are about to have at tight end.
The Chiefs are overly reliant on a historically legendary but obviously (and understandably) declining 36-year-old Kelce, a player who is likely heading into the final season of his incredible career. Kansas City will need someone to replace Kelce, and if Gray can’t prove that he’s the answer, his salary will be part of the problem.
Gray’s $7 million cap number is way too high for a backup tight end who ranked 56th in yards and 73rd in yards per route last season. The Chiefs would be better off cutting him and using that money on a 2027 free agent—T.J. Hockenson or Sam LaPorta are potential options—or drafting a new tight end with higher upside and a much lower salary instead.
The heat is also on Kansas City's other backup tight ends, Jared Wiley and Jake Briningstool, who have shown even less production than Gray, but they're both being paid significantly less as well. Wiley is also entering a "prove it" season, but his cap hit is under $3 million for the next two years combined.
If Gray can return to his career-best form from 2024—437 yards, 40 receptions on 49 targets, five touchdowns, and 25 first downs—then maybe that will prove to the Chiefs that he can be a reliable TE1. Maybe.
But even then, those kinds of numbers still might not be enough. And if having the best season of your career isn’t enough to save your job, which very well might be the case for Gray, then I can’t imagine how a seat could get any hotter than that.
Hot seat verdict: A steep decline in production and a high price tag mean Gray's seat is hotter than the surface of Mercury (867° F), the hottest planet in our solar system. 9.5/10.
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