Insider reveals Chiefs position on WR trade

Despite a flurry of recent wide receiver trades, it doesn’t seem like the Kansas City Chiefs feel like they’re in an arms race.

On Tuesday, the Las Vegas Raiders dealt WR Davante Adams to the New York Jets. Hours later, the Buffalo Bills acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice, who leads the team in receiving yards (288 through four games), recently underwent knee surgery and is expected to miss the rest of the season. They also placed WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (shoulder) on injured reserve.

“The receiver-depleted Chiefs haven’t been overly aggressive in the market so far,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote Wednesday. “As I was told, coach Andy Reid values ​​receivers who have played in his system or know it well. Finding a plug-and-play situation isn’t always clear. That said, Kansas City will stay nimble.”

Fowler added that the Chiefs “liked” WR DeAndre Hopkins when he was a free agent in 2023, but the Tennessee Titans (1-4) have no plans to trade him before the Nov. 5 deadline.

With Hopkins seemingly unavailable, the Chiefs next trade target would likely be Carolina Panthers WR Diontae Johnson. However, his base salary ($7 million) would eat up cap space. Spotrac estimates KC has $3.64 million in cap space, 28th in the NFL.

If KC doesn’t acquire another wideout before the deadline, that wouldn’t be a surprise.

During his press conference Wednesday, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said he’s “confident” the team’s pass catchers can deliver for the rest of the season.

After the injuries to Rice and Brown, the Chiefs’ top three wide receivers are rookie Xavier Worthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Justin Watson. The trio has combined for 27 receptions for 413 yards and three TD catches through KC’s first five games.

Travis Kelce also had 159 receiving yards in his last two games after failing to eclipse 34 over the first three weeks of the season.

While not a star-studded lineup, this should be enough for KC’s passing attack to continue to be productive. The Chiefs rank ninth in the league in passing yards (236.8).

Also, the Chiefs (5-0) remain the Super Bowl favorites. As of Wednesday, FanDuel Sportsbook is giving the defending champions the best odds (+500) to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again.