Chiefs Roster: KC isn’t in ‘cap hell’ but there is work to be done

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By Jared Sapp

The weeks between the Super Bowl officially closing the season and the NFL Scouting Combine opening the offseason are primed for hot takes as outlets struggle to find relevant content.

A popular take circulating around social media since the three-peat dream officially died is that the Chiefs are now in the dreaded “salary cap hell.”

Various contract sites show the Chiefs to be between about $4 million to as little as $900,000 below 2025’s estimated $275 million salary limit. The thesis of the clickbait industry is that the Chiefs face major problems because just five players – Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Joe Thuney, Jawaan Taylor and Travis Kelce – currently combine for about $175 million in salary cap hits. In theory, this would leave 48 players scrambling for the other $100 million – about a fifth of which is currently earmarked for Creed Humphrey and Drue Tranquill.

If you are reading this, you are probably familiar with the restructures the Chiefs have done in the past – and will continue to do this spring – to maintain cap flexibility. Likely scenarios will be spelled out later this week on the Arrowhead Pride main site. Kansas City has a top-heavy roster, and potential extensions for Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis may soon compound that problem.

The Chiefs face an offseason of change. Whether they can continue to thrive near the cap limit depends on their ability to replicate what has made them successful from a roster standpoint.

What else is in this edition?

Jared details three ways for the Chiefs to stay out of what has been described as “cap hell.”
Pete maps out what the next month or two looks like for the Chiefs in terms of important dates.

The Editors Show

Here is a preview of last’s week’s Editors Show featuring Pete Sweeney and John Dixon.

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