The Kansas City Chiefs made waves across the NFL on Tuesday by officially signing Pro Bowl right guard Trey Smith to a record-setting $94 million contract extension over four years. That keeps one of the league's best offensive linemen with the organization through his prime, though it has far-reaching implications as well.
Smith is now the highest-paid guard in NFL history. With big deals coming up for rising stars Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis as well, there's only so much money to go around. Although getting Travis Kelce off the books once he retires will help, the Chiefs are looking at one of the more expensive rosters around once all of these deals inevitably get done.
Unfortunately for one vet, who is despised by large chunks of the fan base, Smith's deal all but guarantees his exit after the 2025 campaign.
Chiefs' Trey Smith Contract Extension All But Guarantees Jawaan Taylor's 2026 Departure
Kent Swanson of KC Sports Network is dead-on with his analysis, suggesting that the contract assures this will be right tackle Jawaan Taylor's final year with the Chiefs.
This Trey Smith deal all but assures that this is Jawaan Taylor's last season with the Chiefs.
— Kent Swanson (@kent_swanson) July 15, 2025
Humphrey and Smith are already the highest-paid at their respective positions. Taylor holds the second-highest cap hit of any player on the 2025 payroll, counting for fewer than $1 million less than Patrick Mahomes does. That's obviously ridiculous, and Taylor's bloated contract represents a rare mistake by general manager Brett Veach.
The 2026 offseason will be the first real opportunity that Kansas City has to part ways. If the Chiefs cut him now, it'd represent a $34.7 million dead cap hit. Next year? It drops to $7.3 million.
It's hard to argue with two Super Bowl appearances and a parade since the signing, but Taylor is the most-penalized offensive lineman in the NFL during his Chiefs tenure and ranked just 82nd out of 140 qualified tackles at Pro Football Focus last year. If Kansas City is going to pay you like the best right tackle in football, you'd better not be 82nd.
Veach always prepares a year in advance, and he did so here as well. By signing swing tackle Jaylon Moore and drafting Josh Simmons in the first round, he's essentially already set the 2026 line. Simmons, likely Kingsley Suamataia, Humphrey, Smith, and Moore project to start once Taylor is gone, and now there's plenty of time to adjust for any potential failings in that theoretical set-up during practice.
Signing Smith was an obvious move. Now, the next obvious one is cutting Taylor as soon as the season ends.