{"id":861602,"date":"2026-04-08T21:34:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861602\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:34:20","slug":"former-polarizing-chiefs-starter-finds-new-a-team-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861602\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Polarizing Chiefs Starter Finds New a Team in Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2190974571_5627cf-e1775681011431.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Former Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI &#8211; DECEMBER 21: Kareem Hunt #29, Jawaan Taylor #74, Travis Kelce #87, and Mike Caliendo #66 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate after Hunt&#8217;s rushing touchdown in the second quarter of a game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 21, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/kansas-city-chiefs\/\" title=\"Kansas City Chiefs\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"219490\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> have lost several starters this offseason.<\/p>\n<p>They have signed multiple free agents to replace them, and will continue to replenish their roster with the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/kansas-city-chiefs\/mock-draft-jordyn-tyson-colton-hood\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">nine picks they have<\/a> in the 2026 NFL Draft. On Wednesday yet another former Chiefs starter found a home with a new team.<\/p>\n<p>Former Kansas City Chiefs OT Jawaan Taylor Signs With Atlanta Falcons<\/p>\n<p>According to a report from <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/\" title=\"NFL\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"219491\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> insider Adam Schefter, the Falcons and Taylor have agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with an additional $1 million in incentives to potentially be earned.<\/p>\n<p>Falcons and former Chiefs free-agent offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor reached agreement today on a one-year deal with a base value of $5 million and an additional $1 million in incentives, per his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. <\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/kansas-city-chiefs\/free-agency-news-jawaan-taylor-released\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Chiefs released Taylor<\/a> in early March, which saved them $20 million in salary cap space. Taylor signed a four-year, $80 million contract with Kansas City back in 2023, but did not make it to the final year of the deal. Unfortunately, the Chiefs will not get a compensatory pick for Taylor since he did not play the entirety of his contract.<\/p>\n<p>Taylor made 45 regular season starts during his tenure in Kansas City, as well as seven in the postseason. He missed the final five games of the 2025 season after he was placed on injured reserve with an elbow injury. Taylor was a proficient pass blocker for the Chiefs, but infamously struggled with penalties, particularly with false starts and illegal formations.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcons signed Taylor in the same day that their starting right tackle Kaleb McGary retired. Taylor figures to fill McGary\u2019s void as a starter. In Atlanta Taylor will block for one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL in Bijan Robinson. He will also look to keep third-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. upright, as Penix looks to take the next step in his development.<\/p>\n<p>Chiefs Still Need to Decide How They Are Going to Replace Jawaan Taylor<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5637779\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5637779\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2233935681-1-e1764788056179.jpg\" alt=\"Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5637779\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyFormer Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor<\/p>\n<p>With the draft less than three weeks away, right tackle is among the Chiefs\u2019 biggest remaining roster needs. Where that need ranks against other positions has <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/kansas-city-chiefs\/offensive-tackle-first-round-mock-drafts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">been hotly debated<\/a> by fans and experts. Some feel that Kansas City could use one of its two selections in the first round on a right tackle.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, many have the Chiefs taking one as early as the No. 9 overall pick. If they were to do that, their starting offensive line would be complete with Josh Simmons at left tackle, Kingsley Suamataia at left guard, Creed Humphrey at center, Trey Smith at right guard, and their draft pick at right tackle.<\/p>\n<p>That could put Kansas City in contention for the best offensive line in the NFL. However, with four quality starters already in place, is it worth it to use a premium draft pick on a right tackle? Some of the other top roster needs for the Chiefs include edge rusher, wide receiver, and defensive back.<\/p>\n<p>The Chiefs have a couple of in-house options at right tackle in Jaylon Moore and Esa Pole. Moore signed a two-year deal with Kansas City last offseason, and made six starts in place of Simmons in 2025 while he was away from the team with a personal matter. Pole started four games as a rookie last season, also in place of Simmons, who sustained a season-ending wrist injury in Week 13.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/nroesch58\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nick Roesch<\/a> Nick Roesch covers the NFL for Heavy Sports, with a focus on the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, and Los Angeles Chargers. He previously covered the Chiefs for USA TODAY Sports&#8217; Chiefs Wire, and all 32 NFL teams for A to Z Sports. Roesch&#8217;s career in sports media spans 10 years. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/nroesch58\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Nick Roesch<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Chiefs\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI &#8211; DECEMBER 21: Kareem Hunt #29, Jawaan Taylor #74, Travis Kelce #87, and Mike&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,224,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-861602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-falcons","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116371240065817797","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}