Kansas City Chiefs’ salary cap spending breakdown shows positions for Brett Veach to target and avoid during 2026 NFL free agency
The Kansas City Chiefs’ current cap spending can tell us a lot about which positions can afford a long-term investment in 2026 NFL free agency.
The Kansas City Chiefs have many needs to address during the 2026 NFL free agency period, but the question of how to address them and which positions to prioritize is up for debate.
Some of that will be determined by the strength of free agent classes and the 2026 NFL Draft class. The rest of it could be dictated by finances. Without any other moves to clear salary cap space, the Chiefs are sitting on right around $15M to toy around with following the Trent McDuffie trade. That’s subtracting the amount they’ll need to sign a draft class that features an extra first-round draft pick.
What can we learn about the positions that they might invest in by looking at the cap dollars they’re spending in 2026 so far? Let’s follow the money…
Kansas City Chiefs’ positional cap spending breakdown for 2026 before free agency begins
A few things to keep in mind before diving in:
- I didn’t include cash spending, cash percentages, or cash rankings, but they’re typically the same or within 1-3 spots of the cap spending, except for the quarterback position. The Chiefs are No. 1 in the league in QB cash spending.
- The Chiefs have 52 players under contract on their 90-man offseason roster after the release of Mike Danna, the release of Jawaan Taylor, and the trade of Trent McDuffie. They need 38 more to reach the full 90-man offseason roster limit. The Chiefs now have nine projected picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. That means they have 29 seats to fill via free agency and undrafted free agency if they make all nine selections.
- Keep in mind that once the top-51 rule takes effect at the start of free agency, some cap amounts will be shaved off. The numbers, percentages, and rankings will change, but the overall sentiment will remain.
| Position | Players | Cap Hit (#/%/Rank) |
| QB | 3 | $36.7M / 13.2% / 15th |
| RB | 2 | $1.9M / 0.7% / 31st |
| TE | 4 | $10M / 3.6% / 20th |
| WR | 6 | $9.8M / 3.6% / 32nd |
| OL | 12 | $74.4M / 26.9% / 6th |
| EDGE | 5 | $22.5M / 7.5% / 18th |
| DL | 4 | $48.5M / 17.5% / 5th |
| LB | 7 | $32.9M / 11.9% / 2nd |
| CB | 4 | $16.5M / 5.5% / 26th |
| S | 4 | $7.1M / 2.4% / 27th |
| ST | 1 | $7.3M / 2.6% / 10th |
Where should the Chiefs spend their money during the 2026 NFL free agency period?
I think the four positions that clearly need the most investment, in terms of cap dollars, are RB, WR, S, and EDGE. The cupboard is about as empty as it could possibly be at the running back position right now, and they’ve got the flexibility to hand out a top contract there. I’d expect them to be heavily involved in the markets for Travis Etienne Jr. and Kenneth Walker once legal tampering begins.
They also have similar flexibility at safety, because I am not sure that any of Chamarri Conner, Jaden Hicks, or Chris Roland-Wallace will be commanding a big long-term deal down the line. The Chiefs have also shown they’re willing to spend on safeties in free agency (see: Tyrann Mathieu, Justin Reid). They need to find their next guy in that line of players, and I personally like Cards S Jalen Thompson or Colts S Nick Cross, but there are lots of guys out there who could fit the mold.
The wide receiver position is an interesting one because I do think the Chiefs would prefer to keep Xavier Worthy long term. A three-year deal for a wide receiver with an out year around the time Worthy’s contract extension would come due would be a wise move for Kansas City.
The edge rusher position is a tough one because the Chiefs need all the help they can get there, but they’ve already committed a big contract to George Karlaftis. Raising the bar with a mid-level free agent signing before investing in the draft might be the right move.
Interior defensive line already has quite a bit of investment between Chris Jones and Omarr Norman-Lott, but I still think they’re going to need another plug-and-play type in the draft to replace snaps lost from Mike Pennel and Derrick Nnadi. I am told the team is high on Zacch Pickens, but I am not certain they’re comfortable betting on huge strides in development from Year 1 to Year 2.
Tight end will change Kansas City as soon as there’s some public-facing clarity on TE Travis Kelce’s future. The question is, will it be Kelce bumping up the team’s cap dollars spent or someone else?
While there seems to be a predominant thought that the Chiefs won’t invest at cornerback after the Trent McDuffie trade, they certainly have the financial flexibility to do so. Even a mid-tier signing could help them build up their depth. They don’t have a clear and evident solution at the nickel cornerback spot, and they do need depth behind Nohl Williams and Krisitian Fulton on the perimeter.
The Chiefs can probably afford another league minimum contract at the quarterback position if they’re not confident in the Jake Haener/Chris Oladokun competition behind Patrick Mahomes.
Even though Leo Chenal is someone I can see the team bringing back at the right price, it’s really hard to justify spending more at the linebacker position. They’re currently the No. 2 team in both cap spending and cash spending at the position, with seven contracts on the books. Moving on from Tranquill would make that easier to swallow, but I see the team going lean on investments in this position group this year.
The fact that they’re already spending a premium on specialists with Harrison Butker as the only one under contract makes me think they might look to go cheap at punter and long-snapper this year.
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