The Kansas City Chiefs don\u2019t have a lot of salary cap space to make moves heading into training camp. Brett Veach has several ways to change that, but one NFL Insider says the team hasn\u2019t really been in \u201cspend mode.\u201d <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2025-07-22T180457Z_267905158_MT1USATODAY26683272_RTRMADP_3_NFL-KANSAS-CITY-CHIEFS-TRAINING-CAMP.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJul 22, 2025; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach walks down the hill to the fields during training camp at Missouri Western State University.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDenny Medley-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
The Kansas City Chiefs will soon head to St. Joseph, Missouri, at Missouri Western State University for their 2026 NFL training camp. If general manager Brett Veach aims to improve the 90-man offseason roster heading into training camp, he\u2019ll have some work to do regarding the salary cap. <\/p>\n
You might recall that the Chiefs restructured DE George Karlaftis\u2019s contract<\/a> back in May. Those funds were used to pay for the contracts of rookies, CB Mansoor Delane and DT Peter Woods. They had enough funds leftover to reunite with CB L\u2019Jarius Sneed<\/a>. After that, the team signed QB Patrick Mahomes to a contract extension<\/a>. However, that deal didn\u2019t clear any new salary cap dollars for 2026. <\/p>\n According to the folks at OverTheCap<\/a>, the Chiefs have $4,119,901 in salary cap dollars with rookies and QBs slated to report to training camp this week<\/a>. That\u2019s typically around the amount the team carries into the season for procedural moves. That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean they won\u2019t create more, though. In fact, Veach still has plenty of ways to create salary cap space. The big question is whether he actually will do so.<\/p>\n How can the Chiefs create more salary cap space?<\/p>\n The Chiefs can still create more salary cap space through simple restructures of several players. The big thing about these contract restructures is that it only makes players more expensive for the team down the line. If there\u2019s even a slight chance you could move on from a player in 2027, the team is unlikely to pursue a restructure. <\/p>\n Contract restructure moves the Chiefs have available to them<\/p>\n Remember, NFL teams can restructure a portion of a contract. They\u2019re not required to restructure the full contract amount.<\/p>\n Chris Jones \u2013 up to $22m<\/p>\n Trey Smith \u2013 up to $12.5m<\/p>\n Creed Humphrey \u2013 up to $8.8m<\/p>\n Nick Bolton \u2013 up to $6.8m<\/p>\n Harrison Butker \u2013 up to $3.7m<\/p>\n Noah Gray \u2013 up to $1.8m<\/p>\n From my view, Humphrey and Smith are the most likely restructuring candidates. I wouldn\u2019t be shocked if the Chiefs pursue a reworked deal with Noah Gray, just like they did with LB Drue Tranquill. <\/p>\n The Chiefs can also cut players to create salary cap space. They\u2019d incur dead money costs in that scenario. They\u2019re on the books for practically $10M in dead money already after releasing RT Jawaan Taylor and DE Mike Danna<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gray, Kristian Fulton, and Chamarri Conner are cut candidates, but Fulton seems like the most realistic one of the bunch. They\u2019d also be better off if they found a trade partner for Fulton, especially with a few teams around the NFL needing cornerbacks (Dolphins, Patriots, and Lions, to name a few).<\/p>\n NFL Insider says Chiefs are not in \u2018spend mode\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-06-09T171111Z_664127955_MT1USATODAY29158400_RTRMADP_3_NFL-KANSAS-CITY-CHIEFS-MINICAMP-2-200x200.jpeg\")
\t\t<\/p>\n