The Kansas City Chiefs lost the Super Bowl in large part because of their offensive line, the second time that’s happened in the Patrick Mahomes era. While a few moves have been made to address the issue, it appears a lot more are on the horizon.
Kansas City started its offseason by placing the franchise tag on guard Trey Smith, preventing him from reaching NFL free agency. Days later, the team traded All-Pro guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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- Kansas City Chiefs offensive line stats (2024): 8th in ESPN pass-block win rate (67%), 7th in ESPN run-block win rate (73%)
Ahead of free agency, NFL rumors swirled that Kansas City would aggressively pursue All-Pro offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley. He was atop the list of Chiefs’ free-agent targets with the front office planning a lucrative offer to poach him from the Baltimore Ravens. Instead, Stanley took a team-friendly deal with Baltimore.
Shortly after, Kansas City pivoted by signing offensive tackle Jaylon Moore. While he was primarily a backup with the San Francisco 49ers, starting just 12 games in four seasons, he was reportedly the second-best offensive tackle on Kansas City’s free-agent board. With Smith and Moore on board, more moves are expected.
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Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wrote about the Chiefs offensive line in his latest mailbag, noting that he doesn’t believe right tackle Jawaan Taylor will be with the team after the 2025 season. To that point, Breer thinks Kansas City will add another offensive tackle this offseason.
Taylor has been a below-average starter for the Chiefs since being signed to a four-year, $80 million contract. He’ll remain with the club because of his cap hit in 2025 – $27.391 million – but Kansas City can release him in 2026 and create $20 million in cap space.
As for who replaces Thuney, Breer wrote that Kingsley Suamataia will compete to be the starting left guard in training camp. Suamataia, the 63rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, started two games at tackle in his rookie season before being benched. The tentative plan for the Chiefs offensive line in 2025 seems to be Moore, Suamataia, Creed Humphrey, Smith and Taylor from left to right.
