The Kansas City Chiefs‘ offensive line is a problem, particularly at the tackle positions, which the Seattle Seahawks defense exposed via a clinical dissection of the Chiefs’ front throughout a primetime game that scrubbed some of the shine off the formerly undefeated group.
Trading for a starting-level tackle is an incredibly dubious proposition because any teams that have such players are either starting them or holding them as critical swing options who can help an O-line fend off the injury-riddled war of attrition that is every NFL season.
But Taylor Decker, the former 10-year starting left tackle of the Detroit Lions, remains a free agent. Why no team added the former Pro Bowler and 140-game starter is a legitimate question, but the answer could be as simple as money.
Taylor Decker Perhaps Best Option for Chiefs to Improve Offensive Line
Decker asked for, and received, his release from the Lions this offseason. Spotrac projected his market value at $42.5 million over a new two-year contract. At this point in the season, Decker and his camp will presumably be open to a one-year deal, assuming he’s still interested in playing.
A prorated contract at what appears now to be a meaningfully inflated value projection, the Chiefs could theoretically entice Decker to sign on with a championship-caliber team for the price of around $13 million.
That is still high, especially given that the Chiefs are hunting wide receiver help, per a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Folwer on Monday, October 26, and that Kansas City has around just $2 million in available cap space right now. But mechanisms exist by which the Chiefs can clear up more cap room, and doing so makes sense given their 5-1 start.
Chiefs Tackles Constitute ‘Mess’ in Kansas City, as Josh Simmons on IR, at Odds With Team
Reports out of Kansas City indicate that Josh Simmons, a 2025 first-round pick and presumed starting left tackle coming into the season who is now on IR with a back injury, is quickly wearing out his welcome within the organization given a recent blowup between Simmons and head coach Andy Reid during a team meeting session.
Meanwhile, undrafted rookie Khalil Benson has filled in at the LT position and done so admirably given his lack of NFL experience. But while his run blocking has proven adequate, Benson has struggled meaningfully against opposing pass-rushers and did so again vs. the Seahawks on “Sunday Night Football.”
“He’s done a fine job run blocking, but his pass protection is a mess,” Danny Heifetz of The Ringer Fantasy Football Show said of Benson Monday. “And on the other side, they have Josh Ezeudu who, like, couldn’t even stick with the Giants. … The tackles for [Patrick] Mahomes, off an ACL tear, are kind of a mess.”
Protecting Mahomes needs to be a top priority for the Chiefs moving forward, especially after the team spent considerable draft and financial capital improving multiple levels of the defense and adding running back Kenneth Walker III, who was the best in the league at that position before running up against his former team on Sunday night.
Decker is an answer, though not a perfect or inexpensive one, who the Chiefs must consider seriously.
Chiefs Primed to Pursue Pro Bowl LT Amid Josh Simmons Injury, Poor O-Line Play