Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City is in a genuine cap emergency, ranked 30th with just $5.5M in room and staring down a -$9.4M projected deficit next season, so every roster decision carries real financial consequences.

28 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Nine starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

The roster's top strength is its offensive interior, headlined by a 95 Creed Humphrey and 91 Trey Smith, while the SAM linebacker position, where the starter grades at just 67 overall, is the clear weakest spot on the team.

• SAMhigh

  Jeffrey Bassa starts at SAM with a 67 overall and Jack Cochrane and Ashton Gillotte back him up, making this the team's highest-severity positional need by a wide margin.

• RTmedium

  Jaylon Moore starts at right tackle but is a cut candidate, and the backups behind him are Matt Waletzko and Kahlil Benson, both well below starter quality, making this a genuine medium priority.

• REDGElow

  R Mason Thomas starts at REDGE but remains a developmental option, and depth behind Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Tyreke Smith is thin at the bottom end.

• Plow

  Matt Araiza holds the punter spot but grades as a low-severity need, suggesting the team could upgrade if a better option becomes available.

• SSlow

  Jaden Hicks and Jadon Canady share the strong safety depth chart, but neither has cracked the low-to-mid seventies in overall, leaving the spot as a low-severity concern.

• Vertical SpreadoffensiveGood

  Mahomes's arm talent, Kelce at tight end, and the speed of Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice at receiver make a downfield passing scheme a natural fit for this offense.

• [EA] 46defensivePassable

  Chris Jones as a disruptive interior anchor and George Karlaftis on the edge give the defense enough front-four firepower to make an aggressive, gap-sound scheme viable, even if linebacker depth at SAM is a limiting factor.

• 77Kristian FultonCBCutting Kristian Fulton, who sits third on the cornerback depth chart, frees $9.8M against $3.3M in dead money, making him a logical salary relief target at a position with younger options ahead of him.Frees $9.8M · $3.3M dead
• 71Jaylon MooreRTJaylon Moore starts at right tackle but grades at just 71 overall, and releasing him frees $14.2M against only $4.4M in dead money, providing the most significant cap relief of any cut candidate on the roster.Frees $14.2M · $4.4M dead
• 70Justin FieldsQBJustin Fields is the second quarterback on the depth chart but grades at 70 overall, and cutting him is essentially cost-free, freeing $3.0M with zero dead money.Frees $3.0M · $0 dead
• 62Cole ChristiansenWILLCole Christiansen sits second at WILL behind Drue Tranquill and grades at just 62 overall, so releasing him for $1.2M with no dead money clears a roster spot for a more useful backup.Frees $1.2M · $0 dead
• 55Chris OladokunQBChris Oladokun is the third quarterback on the depth chart with a 55 overall, and cutting him frees $1.0M with no dead money attached.Frees $1.0M · $0 dead

The Chiefs are a win-now roster built around Patrick Mahomes, but the financial picture is as tight as it gets in the league. With only $5.5M in cap room ranked 30th of 32 teams, and a projected -$9.4M cap situation next season, roster construction will require difficult decisions at every turn. Travis Kelce, deep into the twilight of his career, provides elite production at tight end now but succession at that position must enter the conversation soon. Chris Jones anchors the defensive line but is also in the late stage of his career, and Peter Woods at just 21 represents the most important developmental piece behind him. Josh Simmons at 23 with a Star dev trait is the brightest long-term building block on the offensive line and could develop into a true franchise left tackle. The SAM linebacker position, where Jeffrey Bassa starts with a 67 overall, needs immediate attention, and the right tackle spot requires a real starter given the depth chart's current limitations. Kenneth Walker and Rashee Rice give Mahomes weapons at running back and receiver, and Mansoor Delane at 22 is one of the most promising young corners on the roster. The ceiling is still Super Bowl contention as long as Mahomes is operating at this level, but the cap will demand creative management for several seasons.

The franchise was founded by oilman Lamar Hunt as a charter member of the American Football League, beginning play in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. Unable to share the Dallas market with the NFL's expansion Cowboys, Hunt moved the team to Kansas City in 1963 and renamed it the Chiefs, a nod to the nickname of Kansas City Mayor Harold Roe Bartle ("Chief"). Under coach Hank Stram, the team thrived: it won the 1962 AFL Championship as the Texans, then AFL titles again in 1966 and 1969. The Chiefs played in the first-ever Super Bowl (a 35-10 loss to Green Bay) and capped the AFL's existence by upsetting the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV, the last game before the AFL-NFL merger took full effect in 1970. After the merger, the Chiefs entered a long competitive drought; the Marty Schottenheimer era restored a hard-nosed, defense-led identity around Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith, and Dick Vermeil's early-2000s teams featured a record-setting Priest Holmes offense, but a Super Bowl return remained elusive for half a century. The modern golden age began when Andy Reid was hired in 2013 and accelerated when the team drafted Patrick Mahomes in 2017. Mahomes took over in 2018 and the Chiefs became the NFL's defining dynasty, winning Super Bowls LIV, LVII and LVIII and reaching five Super Bowls in six years. Their bid for an unprecedented "three-peat" ended in a 40-22 Super Bowl LIX rout by the Philadelphia Eagles in February 2025. The 2025 season then unraveled: Mahomes tore his ACL (and LCL) in December, and the team finished 6-11 and out of the playoffs for the first time since 2014.