The 2025 campaign was an uncommon down year for the Kansas City Chiefs, and 2026 could be difficult as well with Patrick Mahomes rehabbing a torn ACL. If Mahomes isn\u2019t ready to open the 2026 season, Kansas City could look to a veteran quarterback to bridge the gap.<\/p>\n
FOX Sports NFL writer Greg Orman forecasted that two Chiefs players would land in the top 100 of his free-agent list, including an experienced quarterback whose addition would cost the team three roster spots. Per Over the Cap, Kansas City begins the offseason roughly $54 million over the salary cap, so a subdued free-agency period wouldn\u2019t be surprising.<\/p>\n
Orman\u2019s projections include:
\n– (71st overall, third-ranked QB in free agency) Russell Wilson, 37, who has dropped off markedly over the past few seasons \u2014 from a $40 million starter to very limited play on a struggling team. He finished a recent stint with an 0-3 record as a starter and could command a much smaller salary than the $10 million he earned last year. The likeliest landing spot would be as a short-term starter for a club with younger quarterbacks, allowing that team to avoid rushing its developmental prospects. Teams will be hoping for a steady, if not spectacular, stint\u2014think modest touchdown-to-interception production\u2014to serve as a stopgap.
\n– Re-signed LB Leo Chenal (listed in Orman\u2019s rankings among linebackers): At 25, Chenal isn\u2019t a true every-down defender yet, but he\u2019s stout against the run and continues to grow as a pass rusher. Over four seasons under coach Steve Spagnuolo he has totaled seven sacks and averaged about 55 tackles per year. The question for Chenal\u2019s future is whether a different scheme or coaching staff can sharpen his coverage skills so he can stay on the field in nickel and obvious passing situations; his experience will also be valuable in shaping a winning locker-room culture.<\/p>\n
Fan Take: This matters because Kansas City\u2019s cap crunch and Mahomes\u2019 recovery could reshape the AFC landscape \u2014 a veteran bridge QB would keep the Chiefs competitive but also signal a transition year. Re-signing a player like Chenal shows the team still values young, versatile defenders, which could be crucial if the Chiefs need to both contain opponents and manage roster costs while Mahomes rehabs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 2025 campaign was an uncommon down year for the Kansas City Chiefs, and 2026 could be difficult as well with Patrick Mahomes rehabbing a torn ACL. If Mahomes isn\u2019t ready to open the 2026 season, Kansas City could look to a veteran quarterback to bridge the gap. FOX Sports NFL writer Greg Orman forecasted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[859],"tags":[860],"class_list":{"0":"post-43094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-nfl"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}