‘We’ve made it loud and clear’ — Chiefs OC Matt Nagy puts starting RT Jawaan Taylor on notice as mistakes continue to mount
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy had some strong words for RT Jawaan Taylor after his penalty problems in Week 1 against the Chargers.
Kansas City Chiefs starting RT Jawaan Taylor appears to be on thin ice after leading the league in penalties through the first week of the 2025 NFL season.
Penalty problems are not a new thing for Taylor, who has accounted for 36 penalties across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, including a league-leading 20 penalties in 2023. Chiefs fans were hopeful that Taylor, now healthy after a knee injury in 2024, could put those issues behind him this year. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in Week 1 against the Chargers. Taylor’s penalties were prevalent once again and costly for the team, totaling 30 yards with two holding penalties and two false starts. Frustration even boiled over at one point, causing Chiefs TE Travis Kelce to bark at Taylor during the game.
Speaking to media members on Thursday, Chiefs OC Matt Nagy made it clear that Taylor knows the continued penalties are unacceptable.
“Yeah, well, speaking to the obvious, the penalties can’t happen,” Nagy said. “And so, that’s where we’re at. We’ve made it loud and clear. Jawaan (Taylor) knows that. He understands it. It’s something that, especially in a moment like that, in that game, when things are a little bit off kilter now with the personnel, and you start to move the ball, you have a couple of positive plays, and then boom, a penalty or a second penalty. So, three penalties and a hold, not good enough. He knows that. There’s no one hiding from it, he’s not hiding from it. He understands what’s expected, and I think he’s ready for that challenge here as we go.”
Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor isn’t making excuses for the penalty problems
Sports radio host Darren Smith spoke to Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor during an open locker room session on Wednesday. Smith asked Taylor about the penalties in Week 1 against the Chargers, point-blank. He didn’t make any excuses about potentially being unfairly targeted or anything of that nature.
“Not targeted, man,” Taylor said. “I’ve just got to be better. Eliminate (the penalties) as much as possible, so I don’t hurt the team and I’ve just got to be better overall.”
Will Week 1 be the wakeup call Taylor needs?
Could the Chiefs bench Jawaan Taylor in favor of Jaylon Moore?
This is a question that Chiefs Kingdom continues to ask, and the answer seems to be a yes, despite his significant cap hit and salary. If penalties continue to rack up and disrupt the offense, Chiefs HC Andy Reid might not have a choice. You might recall that during the 2023 NFL season, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Reid temporarily benched Taylor during the third quarter of the game after a rash of penalties. It was an emotional game for Taylor, playing in his hometown and against the team that drafted him. Reid admitted following the game that he sat Taylor down to help him reset, and put him back into the game later. The problem is that these penalty issues have persisted now across three seasons of play. There are no more excuses for Taylor, which he seems to grasp. It’s just a question of whether he can respond in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, and when is enough truly enough.
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