The Kansas City Chiefs may look to acquire more talent in their push for a Super Bowl three-peat.
On Thursday, the Chiefs sent shockwaves across the NFL after landing wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a trade with the Tennessee Titans. The 2025 fifth-round pick they dealt will become a fourth-rounder should the wideout play 60% of snaps for his new team and Kansas City make the Super Bowl.
Following the blockbuster trade, it appeared as though the Chiefs would stay quiet ahead of the November 4 trade deadline due to their lack of cap space. Yet one day after the Hopkins deal officially went through, Kansas City made another interesting move that suggests more additions are still to come.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Chiefs restructured right tackle Jawaan Taylor‘s contract by converting his salary into a signing bonus – thereby freeing up $5.3 million in cap space. The influx of available cash now sets the stage for a second trade, which Kansas City could certainly use, given the state of its injury-riddled roster.
Healthy wide receivers have been hard to come by in Kansas City, with Rashee Rice reportedly “unlikely” to play again this season after undergoing surgery to repair his knee, which he injured in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, meanwhile, was placed on injured reserve and is expected to miss the entirety of the regular season due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the Chiefs’ preseason opener.
More recently, JuJu Smith-Schuster was ruled out for the Chiefs-Raiders game with a sore hamstring, while Skyy Moore was placed on IR on Thursday. As for star running back Isiah Pacheco, he’s expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a fractured fibula.
Despite the myriad of health setbacks, the Chiefs still have managed to begin the season a perfect 6-0, making them the only team in the NFL that’s yet to lose this year. That isn’t to say, however, that Kansas City couldn’t use additional reinforcements.
Per Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame, the Chiefs could look to make a splash on the defensive side of the ball by trading for Cleveland Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith or New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who each possess remaining cap hits of just $1.2M this year.
For now, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid isn’t divulging any details regarding his team’s plans in the trade market. When one reporter asked him if Kansas City has “anything else going on” following the trade for Hopkins, the 66-year-old joked: “Only if you want to jump in and take a few reps.”
Earlier this month, Reid didn’t rule out the possibility that the Chiefs would be active near the deadline. “It would depend on who the guy is. I mean, that’s the obvious. If he’s got experience in the offense, and it’s not too bad,” he said regarding his mindset.
“It takes somebody a little bit of time to get himself involved and get the terminology down, but it’s a lot easier now than it is during training camp. They have to learn a kazillion plays here they just have the game week to learn and getting on the same page with the quarterback and the timing and all that. That’s a bigger issue normally.”
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