The Kansas City Chiefs and the other 31 NFL teams received great news earlier this week when it came to the 2026 salary cap projections. According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, next season's salary cap is estimated to increase between $22 million and $26.5 million, which would be massive for cash-strapped teams like the Chiefs.
Projected to be an NFL-worst $57.5 million over the salary cap before next season's increase is official, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach is likely celebrating this news. Not only because it will help him re-sign the Chiefs' pending free agents, but it also means a potential Breece Hall trade is back on the menu.
Projected 2026 Salary Cap Increase Opens Door for Chiefs-Breece Hall Signing
With Isiah Pacheco struggling to produce early in the 2025 campaign, a trade for the New York Jets' star running back was on a lot of Chiefs fans' wish lists. Hall was playing on an expiring contract, and all signs pointed to an offseason exit, which is why it was disappointing when Kansas City couldn't get a deal done before the trade deadline.
But now that Veach & Co. will have more cash than expected to spend this offseason, the door is open to lure Hall to join the Patrick Mahomes-led offense.
Pacheco's play is falling off, and Kareem Hunt isn't getting any younger, so it isn't hard to like the idea of the life Hall could inject into the Chiefs' offense. The 24-year-old runner just rushed for his first-ever 1,000-yard campaign — despite the Jets' litany of offensive issues — and finished with at least 1,300 scrimmage yards for the third consecutive season.
That's without even mentioning how Hall would benefit from having Eric Bieniemy as his offensive coordinator. The ex-Chicago Bears running backs coach was a key factor in his former team averaging the third-most rushing yards per game (144.5) and yards per carry (4.9) in 2025. Having that type of support could vault Hall into another career performance.
Chiefs Have Path to Creating More Money in Potential Hall Pursuit
Of course, the Chiefs need to do additional financial tinkering to create the necessary space to sign Hall, who Spotrac projects to have a market value of $10.4 million annually. The good news is that space can be created, as Kansas City has a few contracts that can be traded/cut to create cap space savings, including:
- Jawaan Taylor, RT — $20 million (via cut or trade)
- Kristian Fulton, CB — $10 million (via trade)
- Noah Gray, TE — $5.5 million (via cut or trade)
Even if Hunt is re-signed and the coaching staff puts more faith in Brashard Smith, the team's lack of a clear RB1 is undeniable, giving Kansas City every reason to compete for Hall's services. That would also allow the Chiefs to use the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft on the best player available, rather than a running back prospect.
With that in mind, the Chiefs have every reason to keep Hall on their offseason agenda. A bona fide No. 1 running back is exactly what Kansas City's offense needs to get this team back in the Super Bowl conversation, and now that the future holds more spending power than expected, Veach and the front office can't let opportunity slip through their hands.