KC Chiefs’ latest salary cap decision will help them sign Mansoor Delane and Peter Woods, but it doesn’t signal other roster moves
The Kansas City Chiefs have cleared enough salary cap space to sign their two remaining draft picks after restructuring the contract of George Karlaftis. However, they’re unlikely to make a free-agent signing or a trade without additional salary-cap-clearing moves.
The Kansas City Chiefs have made an expected and needed salary cap move.
As first reported by Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti, the Chiefs have restructured DE George Karlaftis’s contract. Converting $9.685 million of his salary into a signing bonus to create $7.7 million in salary cap space. Ginnitti estimates that the Chiefs now have $13 million in salary cap space available. The move will increase his salary cap hits in future years by just under $2 million. Karlaftis’ four-year contract extension with the Chiefs doesn’t actually kick in until 2027, at which point his cap hit will balloon to over $17 million.
With the recent news surrounding Rashee Rice, people are clamoring for Kansas City to make an addition to the 90-man offseason roster at the wide receiver position. There have been rumors of an A.J. Brown trade and talk of Stefon Diggs signing with the Chiefs. The reality is that this move doesn’t necessarily signal that any substantial roster moves are coming.
The Chiefs have the funds to sign the 2026 NFL Draft class, but not much more
The Chiefs have two 2026 NFL Draft picks who remain unsigned: No. 6 overall pick Mansoor Delane and No. 29 overall pick Peter Woods. This move effectively clears the exact amount of salary cap space they need to sign those players without going over the top 51 salary cap.
2026 cap hits for each of the Chiefs’ remaining unsigned draft picks
The Chiefs need a combined $10.9 million in salary cap space to get the No. 6 overall pick and the No. 29 overall pick under contract.
- CB Mansoor Delane: $7.6 million
- DT Peter Woods: $3.3 million
Brett Veach will have around $2.8 million in available salary cap space to spend after signing Delane and Woods because they’ll bump a pair of players out of the top-51. That amount is less than what you would need to go out and trade for or sign a player. It’s more in line with the amount that the Chiefs typically carry into the regular season for procedural moves and the like.
That doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t other salary cap-clearing moves that are coming for Kansas City. They can still restructure Chris Jones, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, and Nick Bolton. They’ve also got a few cuts that they can make to clear cap space. However, if they intend to sign a free agent or trade for a player, another move would be needed to make that a reality.