It's one of the football world's biggest burning questions as the month of October rolls on: Will the Kansas City Chiefs add a wide receiver before the 2024 NFL trade deadline?
While there are still a few weeks before that needs to be answered, speculation won't be slowing down one bit. As the back-to-back Super Bowl champs enter Week 7 with a perfect 5-0 record, there's plenty of room to improve on the offensive side of the ball. Already down wideouts Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and Rashee Rice for at least the regular season, Andy Reid's club would benefit from a talent injection.
It takes two to tango, however, and Kansas City has yet to strike a deal with an opposing club. How strong have their efforts been? In a recent article with Dan Graziano of ESPN, Jeremy Fowler emptied his reporting notebook to give the latest on the Chiefs.
"The receiver-depleted Chiefs haven't been overly aggressive on the market to this point," Fowler wrote. "As was told to me, coach Andy Reid values receivers who either have played in his system or know it well. Finding a plug-and-play situation isn't always clear cut. That said, Kansas City will stay nimble. The Chiefs liked DeAndre Hopkins in 2023 free agency, but Tennessee isn't eager to deal him as of now, and he likes playing in Tennessee. I don't get the sense he's angling to get out of there. Carolina's Diontae Johnson would be a good fit, but his base salary is $7 million and the Panthers do not seem eager to deal him just yet. The Bills just released Marquez Valdes-Scantling, so perhaps the Chiefs add a familiar face in the short term."
Fowler's report signals that Kansas City might ride the current wave of production from its offense but keep its eyes peeled regarding external options. Coming off Week 5's huge performance against the New Orleans Saints, that makes at least some sense. In that outing, JuJu Smith-Schuster went over 100 receiving yards and rookie Xavier Worthy continued to showcase his growth. On the other hand, relying on an injury-prone wideout and a first-year player – along with 35-year-old tight end Travis Kelce – is an insanely risky proposition.
The Chiefs are maintaining a consistent philosophy pertaining to trades. While having someone who's familiar with their style of offense would be nice, Reid himself said this week that it isn't absolutely necessary. When considering players like Hopkins or Mike Williams of the New York Jets, it's important to factor in their archetype compared to what Kansas City traditionally values on offense.
The champs' salary cap situation is another potential obstacle. Currently estimated to have just over $4 million to work with, fitting in a high-level playmaker is much easier said than done. A combination of base salary ($8.27M) and per-game roster bonuses ($1.02M) makes a Hopkins acquisition tricky, even with those figures being deflated now that the season is rolling. The same is true for Johnson ($7M base), and it would've been true for Davante Adams before he got moved to the New York Jets. Amari Cooper was one of the few cheap and good receivers available. He's now with the Buffalo Bills.
That leaves the Chiefs stuck between a rock and a hard place. There are ways to improve the wide receiver room, albeit far more to get better depth instead of a starting-caliber option. A lot can change between now and November 5, so buckle up for one of the busiest times of the NFL calendar.
