Arrowhead Pride
The Kansas City Chiefs will return to Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri, next week, as training camp opens to prepare for the 2026 season. The Chiefs are beginning training camp in an unfamiliar situation: coming off a losing season for the first time in head coach Andy Reid’s tenure.
Changes to the depth chart can be expected following a losing season, and there were plenty of departures after year’s end. One of the most significant was the starting right tackle of three years in Kansas City.
Jawaan Taylor was cut in March as a cap-saving measure. Taylor started on the right edge through two AFC titles. While mostly reliable, he was often penalized and a source of frustration amongst fans given his high cap hit and frequent errors or penalties. Taylor eventually signed with the Atlanta Falcons.
Right tackle is the only position along the offensive line slated to have a new Week 1 starter this season, and the only real position up for grabs along the starting Chiefs’ offense. During OTAs in June, Andy Reid acknowledged there was a “competition” being held for the starting spot.
“Moore has been kind of the mainstay in there, and then we’ve moved guys in there,” Reid said. “We’ll just see, we’ll see what happens. Those other four spots are really pretty solid, and I feel good about whichever one of these guys wins the competition there. I think we got guys that will be okay in that position, it’s just a matter of who ends up being that guy.”
It is imperative the Chiefs make the right decision in order to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes returning from injury; it may be one reason the team isn’t didn’t grant Moore — who has never been a full-time starter — the gig unopposed, despite a $18 million cap hit this year.
So let’s take a look at the candidates for who could be the Chiefs’ starting right tackle in September, starting with Moore:
There are two main contenders to land the starting right tackle job, and Moore is the “mainstay,” as Reid put it. The Chiefs have already shown a lot of faith in the veteran following the release of Taylor, as well as trading away offensive tackle Wanya Morris to the Falcons this offseason.
Moore is entering his second season in Kansas City, settling in at right tackle now after playing on both edges as the team’s swing tackle. He started four games at left tackle and two at right tackle, playing 38% of the offense’s snaps over the course of the year; he was credited with three sacks.
Moore has 18 career starts after spending the majority of his career as the backup to San Francisco 49ers’ perennial All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams. He has primarily spent time on the left side, but with Mahomes’ blindside in the hands of Joshua Simmons, Moore has no choice but to focus on the right; it is his...
