The Chiefs are in no position to get cute with Jaylon Moore.
Training camp always has a way of bending reality. Players start flashing, depth charts start looking fluid, and it gets easy to talk yourself into all kinds of roster theories.
That’s part of what’s fueling the chatter around Moore, especially after Saturday evening’s news that star left tackle Laremy Tunsil will miss most of the regular season with a torn triceps. Almost immediately, some Chiefs fans started wondering whether Moore could be shipped to the Commanders, who are trying to sort out their own left tackle mess and are reportedly considering former Chief Andrew Wylie.
But the idea that Kansas City should move Moore right now is a classic overreaction to camp noise.
The temptation comes from what the Chiefs have been seeing up front. Rookie UDFA Khalil Benson has spent most of camp with the first team, at least until Trey Smith was sidelined by a hip injury.
Benson slid into Smith’s spot at right guard, while Moore moved over to right tackle. Add in some optimism around Esa Pole and Josh Simmons, and it’s easy to see why some fans are starting to view Moore as expendable.
That’s a mistake.
Unless the Chiefs are blown away, Moore should stay put. If a team came calling with a Day 1 pick or even an early Day 2 selection, that would at least force a real conversation.
But that kind of return is unlikely. Moore carries nearly a $15 million cap hit for any team that trades for him, which knocks 12 teams out of the market immediately.
Right now, 13 teams, including the Chiefs, have less than $15 million in active cap space.
That makes the whole exercise tough to justify. Kansas City is not likely to get meaningful value back for a player with that cap number.
And even if they did move him, what would they do with the savings? Most of the big-name free agents are already gone.
So the payoff would probably be a mid-to-late Day 3 pick. That’s a thin return for a player who could still matter a lot.
And that leads to the real issue: the Chiefs cannot afford to gamble on tackle depth.
Josh Simmons has the kind of ceiling that gets people excited, and by all accounts he’s stacking another strong camp. But he’s also coming off back-to-back season-ending injuries, with an undisclosed personal absence in between. Esa Pole has already been through a roller coaster himself; the Chiefs cut him from the roster in August of last year before bringing him back on waivers, and he flashed enough in spot starts to stay in the conversation.
Benson is the wild card. He wasn’t even a priority UDFA for Kansas City, having to earn his way out of rookie minicamp just to get into this camp picture.
The early signs are encouraging, sure. But it would not be shocking if he gets the Esa Pole treatment before the season starts and Moore is the one opening at right tackle.
Either way, the Chiefs should remember what last season taught them. They need tackle depth, especially with their star quarterback coming off an ACL injury. Giving away that insurance for what probably amounts to a Day 3 pick doesn’t make sense.
Moore’s signing hasn’t aged especially well for Brett Veach, either. His $18.6 million cap hit this year is a hefty burden, particularly if he isn’t starting in Week 1.
But that money is already committed. Kansas City can’t undo it, and it certainly can’t turn around and use that space to land Romeo Doubs or Boye Mafe.
The smartest move is the simplest one: keep the veteran tackle on the roster and let him be the guy ready to protect Mahomes, whether that’s in Week 1 or Week 11.
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