The Kansas City Chiefs can’t do too much but await the results of Wild Card Weekend as they do some preliminary prep work for the Divisional Round.
Having said that, the organization did relay two reserve/future signings via the NFL transaction log on January 9. KSHB41 reporter Nick Jacobs shared the news on X.
“The Chiefs signed LB Shaun Bradley and S Jason Taylor to future deals,” Jacobs informed.
Chiefs Come to Terms With 2 New Special Teams Options for 2026
Both Bradley and Taylor are veteran defenders that have been in the league somewhere from two-to-five years. In the case of Bradley, it’s the latter.
Entering the NFL as a sixth rounder out of Temple, the 27-year-old was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. He’s spent most of his career in Philly to this point, outside of a brief stop with the Houston Texans in 2024.
According to Pro Football Reference, Bradley has mostly made a name for himself as a core special teamer. This makes sense, considering the Chiefs are always looking for new ST options.
He logged 878 special teams snaps with the Eagles from 2020 through 2022, compared to just 131 snaps on defense.
On his career, Bradley has accumulated 45 total tackles in the regular season and another 3 in the playoffs. Just 1 of those was considered a tackle for a loss, and Bradley has also been credited with 1 career pass defense.
Taylor is a little younger than Bradley, having just turned 25. He was originally a 2023 seventh-round selection of the Los Angeles Rams out of Oklahoma State. Taylor also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad in 2024.
To no surprise, Taylor profiles as another special teamer according to Pro Football Reference. He has 111 career ST snaps with the Rams compared to just 39 snaps on defense.
On his career, Taylor has 6 total tackles in the regular season and postseason combined. He has appeared in 8 regular season games and 1 playoff outing.
Explaining NFL Reserve/Future Contracts
For those that need a yearly refresher on reserve/future contracts, Pro Football Network offered a great explanation for them in 2023.
“An NFL futures contract is essentially exactly what it says it is,” PFN’s Ben Rolfe noted at the time. “It is a contract that secures an NFL player to a team for the future. The reason it is designated as a ‘futures contract’ is that the player is not officially under contract until the start of the following league season.”
“The reason that differentiation is important is that the player’s contract does not count against the salary cap or the roster limit for the current season,” he continued. “Instead, it is credited against the following year’s salary cap, and the player counts against the offseason 90-man roster limit.”
Rolfe also added that “once a player signs a futures contract, they are placed on a reserve/futures list and cannot negotiate with other teams.”
This is different from a practice squad contract, where another team could theoretically sign said player to their active roster.
In terms of compensation, Rolfe stated that “a player signing a futures contract will often be signed to a minimum value contract for their level of NFL experience.” He also clarified that the “deals usually do not contain much, if any, signing bonus.”
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