Rashee Rice is finally able to return to play after serving his six-game suspension, and that means the receiver depth chart is about to shuffle to accommodate No. 4 as No. 1. Everyone from Xavier Worthy to Tyquan Thornton to JuJu Smith-Schuster will move down at least one spot—but could the final player on the 53-man roster end up being moved to another team instead of the practice squad?
Which players could the Chiefs even afford to lose at the moment? There are plenty of contracts expiring this season, and a handful of Chiefs who could draw interest if placed on the trade block—even if it’s a longshot.
Joshua Williams, CB
Joshua Williams was somewhat of a surprise when he first made the 53-man roster earlier this offseason. While the Chiefs’ secondary has been a sore spot so far this year, it hasn’t been at the hands of the former Fayetteville State cornerback.
That’s because Williams has barely played, thanks to the sustained success of Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, along with the meteoric rise of Nohl Williams (when he’s actually on the field) and the youthful boost that Christian Roland-Wallace brings. Williams’ main purpose in Kansas City seems to be on special teams, where he plays just over 77% of the snaps.
He might not bring the most value in return, but even a sixth-round draft pick can turn into gold in the hands of Brett Veach. Williams could also be paired with late-round draft capital to bring in someone who can help Kansas City apply pressure on defense, or even a running back to boost the rushing game.
It would also be a win-win for Williams. He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion who made a huge impact in one of those runs with his lone playoff interception against Cincinnati. He could return to the field as a true cornerback instead of a special teams gunner—something he’s surely itching to do every week.
Charles Omenihu, DE
Let’s be honest: Charles Omenihu has not been the player the Chiefs expected when he arrived from Houston and San Francisco back in 2023. He had his best game of the season in Week 5 in Jacksonville, recording his first sack of the year and adding another tackle for loss, which earned him a 75.9 PFF grade after four straight weeks below 61.
He’s only in Kansas City this year on a one-year, $4 million deal he signed this offseason after a few months as a free agent. That means if Kansas City doesn’t trade him before the deadline, they could be stuck with his subpar play all season, only to lose him for nothing once it’s over.
Omenihu has far more tape than Williams and some other potential trade candidates, and his playoff footage before tearing his ACL still suggests he’s worth more than a late-round pick. But since that strip-sack on Lamar Jackson two seasons ago, he’s been a shell of himself.
Last year, in a shortened season, he recorded only 14 pressures and two sacks. This year, he’s been lucky to get to 10 through six games, per Pro Football Focus, which might make this the perfect window for Veach to sell high before a few more poor showings lower his value. Omenihu’s ceiling has always been relatively high, so the Chiefs might fetch a fourth- or fifth-round pick, or perhaps a player who could replace him or bolster the offense.
Robert Tonyan, TE
The former Indiana State tight end really reminded people who he was during his preseason outings as a Chief this year, but since then, he has been nonexistent. It’s not his fault playing behind a first-ballot Hall of Famer in Travis Kelce and a TE2 who was paid handsomely last season to be on the field. Also, despite Tonyan being listed ahead of him, Jared Wiley has shown some promise in the preseason and in practice after a season-ending injury took his rookie season away.
All that aside, Tonyan was once TE1 for Aaron Rodgers while he was still winning MVP awards. He’s got plenty of talent that shines when he’s given the opportunity. His best season was 2020, when he had the second-most receptions on the Packers behind somebody named Davante Adams, which ended in Tonyan scoring 11 touchdowns and accumulating nearly 600 yards from scrimmage.
Tonyan was originally kept on the 53-man roster to replace Rice when he was first handed the six-game suspension, with the hope being that he could help on offense in any way. Since then, he has only been on the field for 13.33% of the offensive snaps and just under 40% of the snaps on special teams.
His stats through five games with those snap counts? Zero catches. Zero targets. He simply isn’t needed or even useful on this offense, apparently, which means he can be let go rather easily once Rice takes his spot back on the 53-man.
Age is a factor with Tonyan, as he is 31 and has spent eight seasons getting hit in the middle of the field, which could mean he’d haul in a late-round pick with possibly another player being packaged to help the ailing defensive line.
Honorable Mentions:
Isiah Pacheco, RB
Pacheco is really only suitable on the trade block if the Chiefs are receiving a running back in return. He’s in the final year of his contract, he and Kareem Hunt have similar skillsets, he’s injury-prone this early into his career, and he could want more money than he’s worth after three straight Super Bowls in his first three years. Packaging him for someone like Breece Hall, De’Von Achane, or Alvin Kamara is the only way he’s headed to the trade block
Noah Gray, TE
Gray always seems to be a support line for Mahomes in big spots, but this season he is not looking like the three-year, $18 million player that he was last season, when he had career highs in targets (49), catches (40), receiving yards (487), and touchdowns (five). If the Chiefs truly are keeping Tonyan and Wiley cool on the sidelines for future use, then selling Gray after a season like last year could yield quite a big haul that could be an immediate impact type player from a lowly team at the bottom of the barrel.
