The Kansas City Chiefs head into NFL free agency with a number of needs, but not enough salary cap space to realistically fill all those needs, even after saving $20 million on Monday with news dropping of the planned release or trade of right tackle Jawaan Taylor. Also hanging over the team's head is whether tight end Travis Kelce will return for the 2026 season and, if he does, what kind of salary the veteran tight end will command. All this means that the NFL Draft is likely the most important part of this offseason for Kansas City.
Still, there will be some cap space to work with in free agency. The team might not be in the running for the top free agents on the market, but there are certainly affordable options out there who can help quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company get back to the Super Bowl.
RB Travis Etienne
The Chiefs need to figure out the running back position. Last year's rotation of Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt clearly isn't cutting it. With both players set to hit free agency, this is the perfect time to hit the reset button. The team could try to draft a running back, including potentially targeting Jeremiah Love in the first round of the draft, but Love's strong NFL Combine performance might mean he'll be off the board before Kansas City picks at No. 9 overall.
That makes it imperative to sign a back in free agency, because going into 2026 with Breshard Smith and a non-Love rookie isn't the fix that Kansas City needs. While Kenneth Walker III and Breece Hall might be out of KC's price range, considering the team has to manage a precarious salary cap situation, Travis Etienne might be available at a cost that the Chiefs can afford.
Etienne has three 1,000-yard seasons under his belt and is coming off a strong 2025 season that proved his 2024 regression was likely a one-off brought about by Jacksonville's decision to split backfield work between Etienne and Tank Bigsby.
WR Rashid Shaheed
The Chiefs need a wide receiver who can stretch the field. As much as his name gets brought up, Tyreek Hill is not the answer to that — he'll be coming off a serious knee injury and may never be the same guy again. Even if he comes at a discount, signing Hill feels like a misguided move that will come back to bite the Chiefs.
But what about Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed? Consistency has been an issue across his career, and his stock feels especially low after recording just three catches during the postseason, but at his best, he's capable of being a huge deep weapon. Before the Saints traded him to the Seahawks, he was looking like a solid No. 2 receiver for the team, so maybe Seattle simply wasn't a good fit?
Season | Yards Per Reception |
|---|---|
2022 | 17.4 |
2023 | 15.6 |
2024 | 17.5 |
2025 | 11.6 |
Shaheed was a big play merchant over his first three seasons with the Saints before he saw his route tree expand more prior to the trade with Seattle. He'd offer the Chiefs the perfect outside weapon to enable Mahomes to push the ball down the field in a way he hasn't been able to over the past couple of seasons.
RT Braden Smith
The Chiefs now have to figure out the right tackle position with Taylor gone. Colts free agent Braden Smith is the best right tackle on the market, but that also means he won't come cheap. Consider this the "if Kelce doesn't return and we have some extra money" option.
Even without factoring in the financial savings of moving on from Taylor, it was clear that his tenure with the Chiefs needed to come to an end. He led the Chiefs' offensive line in penalties in each of his seasons with the team, and PFF rated him as one of the worst run-blocking tackles in the entire NFL while grading him right around the middle as a pass blocker. There's clearly room to improve at right tackle.
Enter Smith, who still isn't a great run blocker, but who can at least be average there instead of a liability while also offering improved pass-blocking over what Taylor provided.
The other thing working in Smith's favor? Just six penalties in 2025 compared to Taylor's 13. Essentially cutting out one extra drive-killing penalty every other game might not sound like much, but for a team that went just 1-6 in one-score games in 2025, that might be the difference between a win or two over the course of the season.
What if the Chiefs need a cheaper option at right tackle? Well, the draft might be the best place to look for a guy like that, but the team could also sign someone like Josh Jones or Larry Borom to a short deal.
EDGE Cameron Jordan
Cameron Jordan has spent his entire career with the New Orleans Saints. That career, which spans 15 seasons in the NFL, is quickly coming to an end, and if Jordan wants to end it with a Super Bowl ring, he might want to consider finally leaving the Big Easy.
Jordan ended the 2025 season with 10.5 sacks, his most since 2021. Even as Jordan gets older, he still shows that he can be a consistent pass-rush threat.
Kansas City doesn't necessarily need a new starting edge, but who wouldn't like a player like Jordan, who can be added to the roster and used situationally? He's already shown over the past two seasons that reduced snaps don't really hurt his ability to get to the quarterback.
Season | Snap Rate | Sacks |
|---|---|---|
2023 | 70% | 2.0 |
2024 | 48% | 4.0 |
2025 | 54% | 10.5 |
In fact, the past two seasons suggest that fewer snaps are good for Jordan. After posting his worst sack number since his rookie season in 2023, his snaps fell by over 20 percent in 2024 and he doubled that sack number, then more than doubled it in 2025 with barely an increase in snap rate. Kansas City can largely keep Jordan fresh by using him only on passing downs.
DL Tim Settle
Chris Jones probably isn't long for Kansas City. While his contract makes moving on this offseason very difficult, it wouldn't be shocking to see a restructure that gives the Chiefs flexibility next offseason. In this scenario, adding under-30 talent to the interior of the defensive line would be a smart move.
Houston's Tim Settle has been a reliable starter through two seasons with the Texans, but Houston is about to have to make a lot of difficult choices as far as where to spend money with potential extensions coming up soon for quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. This could leave Settle looking for a new home.
While he's now been in the league for eight seasons, Settle will only be 29 years old when the 2026 season kicks off. You can still reasonably expect another three or four productive years out of him. He's not a sack machine like Jones, but he can create pressure over the middle to speed up the quarterback. PFF rated him as the 10th-best interior lineman for pass rushing last season.