This past offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs brought in Jacksonville Jaguars right tackle Jawaan Taylor in free agency by signing him to a four-year, $80 million dollar deal with $60M guaranteed. Three weeks into the season, Taylor finds himself in an interesting situation with Andy Reid and his staff.
After a Week 1 performance that was highly criticized due to multiple instances that many believed were false starts and/or illegal formations, Taylor and the Chiefs coaching staff were put on notice that officials would be calling such penalties in the future. Taylor has been in the crosshairs ever since.
In Week 2, Taylor was called for four penalties throughout the game including a false start, illegal formation, and two holding penalties that made things difficult on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense. Immediately after the second holding penalty, Andy Reid made the call to pull Taylor out of the game. This "benching" only lasted two plays, and Taylor would later come in to end the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He might be picked on, but Jawaan Taylor has still been pulled for Prince Tega Wanogho in two straight games.
After the game, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid defended his decision stating, “I took him out for a couple plays. Stepped back. This is home, not only home, but also where he played. You know, just stepped back and let’s get you back out there."
In Week 3, a dominating performance by the Chiefs against the Bears will likely overshadow the truth that Reid once again had Taylor sit down for a spell with a large lead. Shortly before he was taken out of the game, Taylor was called for two separate illegal formation calls. The game was well out of the reach of the Bears, and some of the Chiefs back-ups were about to take the field, but Taylor was replaced by Prince Tega Wanogho with the team's other starters remaining in the game. A few minutes later, left tackle Donovan Smith went down with an injury and Taylor reentered the game at right tackle with Wanogho going to the left side, but it was after an injury to his replacement.
While it's clear that Taylor does need to figure out how to comply with the refs' demands, that doesn't necessarily mean it's fair. Multiple calls against Taylor have been questionable at best and it almost appears as if there's extra emphasis being placed on Taylor than anyone else. Reid even stated after the game that he felt Taylor was being "picked on."Still the Chiefs have pulled him twice in three games and something has to change to keep this from being a talking point.
#Chiefs HC Andy Reid says he got every look of RT Jawaan Taylor's TD nullifying illegal formation penalty: "I thought we were being picked on a little today. . . I thought it was too much."
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) September 24, 2023
Reid was not alone in his sentiments. Patrick Mahomes was asked about Taylor after the game and he didn't mince words. "It’s wild to me. I mean, when you go back and look at the tablet and they’re both in teh exact same spot, I just don’t understand it. It’s hard. He’s playing great football and getting these penalties thrown on him.
"I know it’s hard to officiate but I watch a lot of tape and he’s no deeper than any other tackle in the league," he continued. "I mean, there’s other guys that are even further back than he is. So it’s crazy to see. Hopefully it kind of calms down as the season goes on, but he’s making adjustments, but even with the adjustments, they’re not good enough I guess."
It is only Week 3, and the Chiefs appear to be rounding the corner to become the offensive juggernaut Chiefs Kingdom is used to seeing. However, in two out of three games, the Chiefs coaching staff have felt the need to pull their $80 million dollar tackle from the field.
As the season gets closer to games against divisional opponents, the Chiefs will need to be playing mistake-free football to give them the best chance to win and go to another Super Bowl. Taylor and the Chiefs offensive line will have their hands full next week in prime time when the Chiefs travel to take on the ferocious defensive line of the New York Jets. If week one tells us anything, many eyes will be on Taylor and his ability to play clean football.