Jawaan Taylor has reached the end of the line with the Chiefs.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Kansas City has informed Taylor that he will be released on Wednesday.
Reports emerged earlier this week that the Chiefs were planning on releasing Taylor. At that point, there was a chance Kansas City could find a trade partner for the veteran tackle. But with no trade partner materializing, Kansas City will now let Taylor go, allowing him to get a bit of a head start on the rest of the free agent market.
By releasing Taylor, the Chiefs will save $20 million against the cap for 2026.
Taylor signed with the Chiefs in 2023, winning Super Bowl LVIII with the club. But Taylor has struggled at right tackle, particularly over the last two seasons. In his total time wit the Chiefs, he racked up eight penalties for being lined up too deep in the backfield for an illegal formation.
A second-round pick in 2019, Taylor played his first four seasons with the Jaguars.
The Chiefs have agreed to trade Trent McDuffie to the Rams when the new league year opens next week, but they weren’t the only NFC team pursuing a deal for the cornerback.
Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star reports that the Giants were also engaged in conversations with the Chiefs about a deal. The Chiefs ultimately decided to move forward with the Rams’ offer of the 29th overall selection and three other picks.
The Giants have the fifth overall pick in April’s draft, but it’s not clear what they were willing to give up in exchange for McDuffie.
With that door now closed, the Giants will have to look elsewhere for help at cornerback. They could trade for another player or they could target McDuffie’s Chiefs teammate Jaylen Watson and others in free agency.
Rams General Manager Les Snead said on Tuesday that it would be nice to add an All-Pro to the team’s secondary and he has used one of the team’s two first-round picks to pull that off.
Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie was mentioned as a potential target for the Rams in recent day and there are multiple reports on Wednesday that the Rams have agreed to trade for the 2023 first-team All-Pro. The Rams will trade the 29th overall pick in this year’s draft to the Chiefs as part of a package that also includes 2026 fifth- and sixth-round picks and a 2027 third-round pick.
McDuffie is set to make $13.6 million this year after the Chiefs exercised their fifth-year option on his contract. The Rams will presumably move to sign McDuffie to a long-term deal as well.
McDuffie was also a second-team All-Pro in 2024 and he had 63 tackles, an interception, a sack, and a forced fumble in 13 games for the Chiefs last season.
The Rams fell short of the Super Bowl in January because they could not beat the Seahawks on the road in the NFC Championship Game.
Matthew Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns in Seattle and the Rams sacked Sam Darnold three times, but the Seahawks quarterback and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba tore their defense apart when he had enough time to throw. Darnold and Smith-Njigba hooked up 10 times for 153 yards and one of Darnold’s three touchdown passes, so it wasn’t surprising to hear Rams General Manager Les Snead prioritizing help in the defensive backfield on Tuesday.
“Is there an All-Pro that you could add?” Snead said, via Nate Atkins of TheAthletic.com. “That would be nice.”
There aren’t any All-Pros available in free agency, but a trade could be a possibility and the chances of making one are helped by the Rams holding a pair of first-round picks this year. Snead’s well known for saying “f—k them picks” while building the Rams’ Super Bowl LXI winners and he said on Tuesday that he’s looking for “a player who is going to give us an edge and make an impact.”
Atkins suggests Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie as a Rams target as he is looking for a new contract and played for Rams defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake while in college. McDuffie has been named an All-Pro and the coming days should bring more of an idea about whether Snead will be pushing to bring him to Los Angeles.
Veteran tackle Jawaan Taylor’s time is up in Kansas City.
According to multiple reports, the Chiefs plan to release Taylor ahead of the start of the new league year on March 11. There is still a chance that the team could trade Taylor before making his release official, but his contract would seem to make that an unlikely outcome.
Taylor is set to make $20 million in salary and bonuses with a cap number north of $27 million. The Chiefs would clear $20 million under the cap with a trade or release and Taylor’s play in 2025 did little to suggest there will be a robust market for him at that price.
Taylor started 12 games before going on injured reserve with an elbow injury in December. He started 45 games in three seasons with the Chiefs and started 66 games for Jacksonville before moving to Kansas City.
