Jawaan Taylor is not having a very good day.
This was supposed to be a date circled on the calendar for Taylor, an important homecoming back to EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville after having spent the first few years of his career calling this place his home field. But just in case Taylor was hoping the Kansas City Chiefs' road trip to Jacksonville would allow him to show his former team what they are missing, it turns out the opposite scenario unfolded instead.
In case you want to know how bad Taylor's day has gotten, he was replaced by Prince Tega Wanogho in the third quarter (albeit for just a quick spell).
Taylor's day featured one drive-killing penalty after another including two rough holding calls and another false start. And it's not as if his fellow bookend, Donovan Smith, fared much better. Between the two of them, the Chiefs found themselves struggling on offense to overcome the production lost from their respective mistakes.
Taylor was the key free agent prize this offseason for general manager Brett Veach, who signed Taylor away from Jacksonville to a four-year deal worth $80 million. Last week, Taylor drew plenty of attention for his quick movement off of the line and his alignment (or misalignment) with the o-line but he got the job done. This week, you can only wonder if some of the changes he was forced to make might be getting to him.
Either way, it's clear that Chiefs Kingdom was done watching Taylor make costly mistakes again and again. Here's a sampling of what's going on today:
Jawaan Taylor has now been called for four penalties (illegal formation, false start, holding, holding). All legit.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) September 17, 2023
Jawaan Taylor is back in the lineup for Chiefs on this drive. Was removed from game after two holding penalties on last drive and was talking with OL coach Andy Heck on sideline.
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) September 17, 2023
At least there are some alternate takes out there:
League going out of its way to dispel any notion that Jawaan Taylor received favorable treatment in Game 1.
— Bro Thuney (@emceereach) September 17, 2023
But mostly it was alot of frustration for Chiefs Twitter.
Game to forget for Jawaan Taylor
— Daniel Harms🏈 (@InHarmsWay19) September 17, 2023
How much are we paying Jawaan Taylor again? 🤔
— Brad Symcox (@BritChiefUK) September 17, 2023
Feels like Jawaan Taylor & Donovan Smith have committed 86 penalties combined today lmao
— Braiden Turner (@bturner23) September 17, 2023
Jawaan Taylor getting benched for Prince Tega Wanogho 👀🤯
— Chief Concerns (@ConcernsChief) September 17, 2023
Will Taylor be the most expensive backup RT of all-time?#ChiefsKingdom