Kansas City Chiefs

Kaiir Elam

CB

Elam, who played in 10 regular-season games with Dallas and four with Tennessee in 2025, brings depth and experience to a Kansas City cornerback corps that has seen Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson depart this offseason. The 24-year-old has 19 starts (including seven with the Cowboys last year) to his credit since being drafted by the Bills 23rd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, and in his new locale, Elam figures to compete with Nohl Williams and Kristian Fulton for outside CB reps.

Travis Kelce

TE

Kelce agreed to terms on a new contract with the Chiefs in early March and now officially re-ups with Kansas City, where he has spent his entire career since being selected by the team in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. The 36-year-old tight end has seen his production dip in recent years but nonetheless remains productive, having surpassed 800 receiving yards in both 2024 and 2025. His contract had previously been reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN as a one-year, $12 million deal worth up to $15 million, but Kelce and the Chiefs have instead negotiated a multi-year pact. As such, as long as Kelce opts to continue his playing career, he will be positioned to operate as a key cog on offense for QB Patrick Mahomes (knee).

Jack Cochrane

LB

The South Dakota product was a key special-teamer for the Chiefs last season, appearing in 17 games and recording 20 total tackles and one interception across 403 total snaps (341 on special teams, 62 on defense). Now back with Kansas City, Cochrane is expected to assume a similar role during the 2026 season.

Justin Fields

QB

With Patrick Mahomes recovering from a torn ACL that he sustained Dec. 14, Fields should have an opportunity to work as Kansas City's QB1 this offseason, provided he's past the knee issue he dealt with at the end of the 2025 season. Beyond that, it's possible that Fields -- whose ability as a rusher boosts his fantasy utility -- will begin the 2026 campaign as the team's starter, a potential scenario that hinges on the pace of Mahomes' recovery. Per Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site, coach Andy Reid noted in February that Mahomes has been making good progress in that regard, while the star signal-caller previously noted that he wants to be ready for Week 1 yet acknowledged that he "can't predict what happens throughout the process," per ESPN.com.

Mike Caliendo

G

Caliendo has played his first three seasons with the Chiefs and will return for at least one more. He made four starts among his 17 games last year and should serve as offensive line depth again in 2026.

Brashard Smith

RB

The Chiefs have parted ways with Isiah Pacheco and look unlikely to bring back Kareem Hunt, but Walker's expected to handle the bulk of the rushing workload after signing a three-year contract with the team, leaving Smith and the newly signed Demercado to compete for change-of-pace duties. Smith had 44 carries for 151 yards while adding 25 catches for 172 yards and a touchdown on 35 targets in 2025, showing some promising pass catching skills as a rookie seventh-round pick.

Drue Tranquill

LB

The move helps Kansas City save $2.5 million in cap space, per Garafolo, who also said Tranquill could have been a cap casualty if not for this renegotiation. Tranquill finished with 103 tackles (55 solo), including 2.0 sacks, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 2025.

Emari Demercado

RB

Kansas City kicked off free agency by inking Super Bowl LX MVP and former Seahawk Kenneth Walker to lead the Chiefs backfield, and the addition of Demercado continues to the overhaul at the position. Demercado has racked up 126 carries for 819 yards (6.5 YPC) and three touchdowns and hauled in 50 of 70 targets for 324 yards and one more TD in 40 career regular-season games across three campaigns. He'll be in the mix for touches along with Brashard Smith behind Walker in 2026.

Kader Kohou

CB

Kohou missed the entirety of the 2025 campaign after suffering a partially torn ACL during training camp last summer. He was medically cleared for all football activities earlier this month and should have a relatively normal offseason. The Chiefs badly needed the cornerback help after losing both Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to the Rams this week.

Alohi Gilman

S

The deal contains $15 million guaranteed. A sixth-round pick of the Chargers in 2020, Gilman began last season with Los Angeles but was traded to the Ravens in October. He started all 12 regular-season games with Baltimore following the trade and finished the 2025 campaign with 90 tackles (50 solo), nine pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. Gilman replaces Bryan Cook at safety with Kansas City.

Tyquan Thornton

WR

After spending his first three seasons with New England, Thornton joined Kansas City ahead of the 2025 campaign and ended up posting career-best marks of 438 yards and three touchdowns on 19 receptions. He also contributed 475 kick-return yards on 18 opportunities. The speedy wideout gives KC a legitimate downfield threat, as he averaged 23.1 yards per catch last year. Thornton ended the season on IR due to a concussion, but there's no indication that the head injury will carry into offseason activities. He'll likely retain a depth wideout role in 2026, though he could move up in the pecking order depending on how else the Chiefs address their wideout corps during the offseason, as both Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster are unrestricted free agents.

Khyiris Tonga

DT

Tonga parlayed his solid 2025 season with New England into a nice payday from Kansas City, as his new contract includes $14 million in guaranteed money. The deal can be made official at the start of the new league year Wednesday. Prior to making eight starts along the interior of the defensive line for the Patriots in the 2025 regular season, Tonga made seven regular-season starts across four previous seasons split between the Bears, Vikings and Cardinals.

Kenneth Walker III

RB

On the heels of his MVP effort in Super Bowl LX, Walker is slated to move on to Kansas City, where he'll immediately slot in as the Chiefs' top backfield option. Meanwhile, Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt, who paced the team's group of RBs in 2025, are headed to free agency, so who will work behind Walker this coming season remains to be seen. With star QB Patrick Mahomes bouncing back from a major knee injury that he sustained in mid-December, Walker figures to be a focal point of Kansas City's offense out of the gate in 2026. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Walker is getting a three-year deal from the Chiefs worth up to $45 million, including $28.7 million fully guaranteed.

Patrick Mahomes

QB

The Chiefs add $43.56 million in cap space with the restructure, but they'll still need to make other moves to become cap-compliant before the start of the new league year March 11. Mahomes is in the early stages of his rehab process after undergoing surgery in mid-December to repair ACL and LCL tears. He said in mid-January that he was aiming to be ready for Week 1 of 2026, though he acknowledged that he "can't predict what happens throughout the process," per The Associated Press.

Josh Simmons

OT

questionable

Rashee Rice

WR

questionable

Chris Roland-Wallace

CB

questionable

Nikko Remigio

WR

questionable

Omarr Norman-Lott

DT

questionable

Wanya Morris

OT

questionable

Brandon George

LB

questionable

Ethan Driskell

OT

questionable

Jake Briningstool

TE

questionable

Felix Anudike-Uzomah

DE

questionable

Ashton Gillotte

DE

Gillotte saw defensive snaps in every game of the season, logging 25 percent or more of the team's defensive snaps in all contests except the Week 1 matchup with the Chargers. The third-round rookie will likely see a similar amount of snaps and opportunities in Year 2, as starting defensive ends George Karlaftis and Mike Danna will both remain with the Chiefs for the foreseeable future.