The Kansas City Chiefs have already acquired WR Kadarius Toney from the New York Giants, but could they still have a few moves up their sleeve before Tuesday’s trade deadline?
As of Saturday, the team was still doing their diligence on the edge rusher market. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Chiefs were among the teams to reach out to the Jacksonville Jaguars about DE Josh Allen.
“The Chiefs have checked on the availability of Allen, and are similarly looking for another edge rusher, though they may be a little more reluctant to part with their 2023 first-rounder,” Breer wrote.
The Chiefs’ reluctance to move their 2023 first-rounder comes from the NFL draft being hosted in Kansas City in April. That alone may sink their chances of adding another player ahead of the deadline, but it’s reasonable to believe they might budge on that conviction for the right player.
Allen makes a ton of sense in K.C. given that their defensive line coach Joe Cullen was his defensive coordinator a year ago. The familiarity is there and the need is there for the Chiefs, but will Allen be on the move on Tuesday? As of Sunday morning, NFL insiders Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo reported that the Jaguars were more inclined to keep Allen rather than replace him. After losing to Denver in London and dropping to a 2-6 record, it feels like anything is on the table for Jacksonville.
Beyond Allen, we know they’ve reached out to the Panthers about Brian Burns. Carolina seems intent on keeping him, given the report that they’d turned down an offer that included two first-round draft picks.
The only other trade candidate routinely mentioned in the edge rusher department is Broncos OLB Bradley Chubb, who will be off the table for Kansas City given that both teams play in the AFC West division.
There has been speculation about other players such as Jaguars DL Arden Key and Commanders DT Daron Payne, but there has been little chatter indicating that either team would be willing to move these players.
As for other potential trades, the Chiefs could end up shipping off a player of their own ahead of the deadline. We wrote over a week ago about Ronald Jones’ likely frustration and to expect a willingness from both parties to find a trade partner. Recent cryptic tweets have many people speculating that Jones has asked for his release.
Sure would like a RELEASE right about now
— Rojo ひ “The Breeze” (@rojo) October 29, 2022
Expect the team to continue to search for a partner for Jones ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline. If he’s not traded, he could be released following the deadline when all released players become subject to waivers. If a running back-needy team were to claim Jones and his contract, it’d help K.C. save some money.
