5 riskiest NFL free agency moves that could backfire
By Lior Lampert
4. Jawaan Taylor to the Chiefs
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
After losing to the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round this past postseason, Jawaan Taylor decided to do just that when he chose to sign a four-year contract with the Chiefs.
Taylor’s contract is worth up to $80 million, with $60 million guaranteed. which would make him the second-highest-paid right tackle in the NFL by AAV. However, it has been reported that he will be playing left tackle for the Chiefs, making the contract slightly more team-friendly.
His success in Jacksonville came from the right tackle position, The Chiefs are betting on a leap of faith from Taylor. It is a lot of money to commit to a player who has proven to be better suited on the right side of the O-line because his pass protection leaves much to be desired.
Simultaneously, the Chiefs made the decision to move on from Orlando Brown. Orlando Brown received $4 million less per year than Taylor in free agency to play left tackle for the Chiefs’ main competitor in the AFC.
As long as Taylor does his part to keep Patrick Mahomes upright and helps them get past the Bengals in the playoffs again, the difference in contract value between these two will not matter.
However, if Joe Burrow and the Bengals get their revenge next season, these two contracts will be widely debated. It is undoubtedly a risky move by the reigning Super Bowl Champions to allow their biggest threat at repeating to sign a key cog of their O-line.
Not to mention, they are now paying his replacement even more money to play a position he has not been comfortable with to date.