Following the surprise retirement of starting right tackle Kaleb McGary, the Atlanta Falcons have come to terms on a 1 year deal with Jawaan Taylor worth up to $6M if all incentives are reached.
McGary, 31, missed the entire 2025 NFL campaign due to a knee injury suffered on the final day of training camp. Known for his run blocking ability, McGary started 92 games over the course of six seasons in Atlanta. He had recently signed a 2 year, $30M contract extension with the Falcons last summer, which the club will now be able to recoup a portion of for salary cap relief due to his retirement.
Taylor will now be tasked with protecting Michael Penix Jr.’s blindside after spending the past 3 years in Kansas City. The 28 year old was released by the Chiefs in March in an effort to create additional cap space following 45 regular season starts and another 7 playoff starts with the team.
Originally selected in the 2nd round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Taylor spent the first 4 seasons of his career in Jacksonville before joining Mahomes & Co. en route to a Super Bowl victory in SBLVIII.
While his time in Kansas City had its highs, it also came with its fair share of criticism of Taylor’s on field play. Taylor amassed an eye popping 54 penalties with the team, and had drawn the ire of local media and fans alike for a perceived lack of progress in that area in recent years.
Taylor certainly comes with his warts, however given Atlanta’s lack of a 1st round pick this season, and how deep into free agency McGary’s retirement came, he fills an immediate need along the Falcons offensive line and comes at a relatively low cost. He’ll slot into a starting role from day 1, as McGary’s back up Storm Norton is also coming off a lost season after sitting out all of 2025 with an ankle injury himself.
Given the lack of options at the position (barring a trade or day 2 selection), for better or worse, Taylor figures to have an outsized impact on the outcome of Atlanta’s season in 2026.
Photo: Atlanta Falcons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.