If the Kansas City Chiefs are going to climb back into contention in the 2026 season, they're going to have to work some miracles in the 2026 offseason.
Specifically, general manager Brett Veach is facing one of his toughest tests yet. The Chiefs are not only dealing with the typical wear and tear of another season, another year of the roster core getting older, and another year of roster turnover, but they are dealing with an offseason where Patrick Mahomes is recovering from a devastating injury.
And that might not even be the worst part of the offseason. No, the Chiefs are facing another mountain they're going to have to climb to even begin thinking about rebuilding and reloading the roster. Every team has salary cap flexibility, but nobody is going to have to do more gymnastics than Brett Veach.
Kansas City Chiefs have worst salary cap situation entering 2026 NFL offseason
The teams with the lowest amount of salary cap space 📉 pic.twitter.com/hxK0S3GxR0
— PFF (@PFF) January 29, 2026
As you can see, the Chiefs aren't just in the red a little bit this offseason. They are in a deep salary cap hole. But it's nothing NFL teams haven't been able to navigate in the past.
Often with situations like this, teams will use their long-term contracts with core players as a way to create more flexibility down the road. They can add void years, they can convert parts of a salary into some type of bonus, or a number of other avenues, including an outright restructure of a deal.
The Chiefs will have some areas of flexibility like that, but we're not talking about being $10 million in the hole. The Chiefs are nearly $60 million in the hole against this year's salary cap, and that's with the projected increase.
They are undoubtedly going to have to make some difficult roster decisions and potentially some cap casualties, but the issue with that is that cutting proven veterans only plays on a team that has been drafting well. And it's hard to say that's been the case for the Chiefs in the last handful of years.
This team has struggled to identify fits through the NFL Draft on the offensive line, at the offensive skill positions, and on the defensive line. They haven't missed on everyone -- the team loves second-year player Ashton Gillotte -- but this team is going to need to nail the 2026 NFL Draft, and hope that a number of young players rise from the ashes.
That's the only real way out of a salary cap hole like this. The Chiefs aren't in the same position to be able to attract ring-chasing free agents, and that's probably not the solution for this franchise right now anyway.