The Kansas City Chiefs had one of the most surprising seasons in the NFL last fall. Kansas City finished the regular season 6-11 and on a six-game losing streak. It certainly did not help that QB Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL during Week 15, ending his season.
Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez issued a warning to his former team ahead of the offseason. When asked if the Chiefs will be contenders in 2026, Gonzalez could not commit to the idea.
In fact, Gonzalez warned that the 2026 offseason “will be tough” for Kansas City.
“It’s gonna be tough this offseason,” Gonzalez said, per DJ Siddiqi. “Who are they going to bring back with the cap money they got? They got to re-sign some players. They’re gonna have to cut some good players. (Trent) McDuffie the corner, he’s one of the best corners in the league. Are you gonna give him that big max contract? Chris Jones, is still there making it.”
The Chiefs are currently $54.53 million over the 2026 salary cap. That alone presents a tough task that will require some contract restructuring, and perhaps a few cuts, just to get cap compliant. But Kansas City will have to go even further if they want enough cap space to actually add players this offseason.
Gonzalez wants the Chiefs to upgrade in the trenches, but especially on the offensive line.
“I always like offensive line,” said Gonzalez of where the Chiefs need to upgrade. “I think if you give Patrick time, he’ll give you the world, he will dominate. You want to keep him healthy so he doesn’t have to scramble that much. He got hurt when he was out there running around. My biggest thing is always build that offensive line. He’ll make average receivers look good, he’ll make good receivers look great. They’ll make great receivers at the Hall of Fame type level.”
Ultimately, Gonzalez thinks this is the right time for Kansas City to rebuild with an eye on the future.
“There’s a lot of things they have to address,” Gonzalez added. “This is going to be an interesting offseason for the Chiefs. I think it’s time. It’s that rebuilding time. But Brett Veach and Andy Reid… I couldn’t think of a better duo to get that job done and still put out a really competitive team next year.”
It will be exciting to see what moves Kansas City makes throughout the offseason.
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