Chiefs don’t appear poised to pull off any deals before NFL’s trade deadline
Chiefs fans will likely have to shelve their wish lists until the offseason, because all signs currently point to a quiet NFL trade deadline for the local club.
All trading for this year ends at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Both publicly as well as privately, the Chiefs appear content to stand pat with the roster as it stands, the biggest additions likely to come via players returning from injury as opposed to via the trade market.
“I haven’t talked to (general manager Brett Veach) today about any of that, so I don’t where he is today,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said during his Monday news conference, which started shortly after noon. “Up to today we didn’t have anything that he was leaning on there, but you never know with him. He doesn’t miss much.”
The areas which most likely warrant attention include, defensively, the secondary and linebacker corps as well as the offensive line.
The Chiefs have made lower-profile roster additions throughout the season to address depth issues at outside linebacker and offensive line after injuries to linebacker Justin Houston and linemen Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Mitch Morse and Jordan Devey.
Reports linked the Chiefs to potential trade scenarios involving Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas prior to his broken leg during a game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Speculation also linked the Chiefs to Cardinals All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson. Last week, Peterson publicly proclaimed his intentions to stay with the Cardinals. His statement came after declarations by his coach and the team owner that they would not trade Peterson.
A Chiefs source acknowledged to The Star that “discussions” were underway with the Seahawks about a Thomas trade at the time of his injury, though nothing was near finalized. But the source also told The Star that the Chiefs had no indication that the Cardinals ever considered trading Peterson.
Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt held his annual state of the team news conference on Monday, and he was asked about his willingness, or lack thereof, to trade a first-round draft pick after going through this past draft without a first-round pick because of the 2017 trade that allowed them to select record-setting quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“I value those picks very highly, as do Brett and Andy,” Hunt said. “It’s not a light decision to trade away a pick, especially a first-round pick. Obviously in hindsight, the decision to trade up and take Patrick — even though it did cost us a first-round pick — was a great decision.
“I don’t want to say I would approve or wouldn’t approve (a trade) because it really would be situational. I’m not aware of scenario where that would come into play, and that trade deadline is coming pretty fast.”
The Chiefs could activate safety Daniel Sorensen, who returned to practice last week, as early as this weekend. Eric Berry’s return from a heel injury remains a question mark though not ruled out by either Reid or Hunt.
The Chiefs continued to make tweaks to the secondary throughout the preseason after an offseason that included the departures of five cornerbacks who started at least one regular-season game in 2017, led by All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters.
Veteran safety Ron Parker also left during the offseason before rejoining the team after the conclusion of the preseason.
The secondary remained a bit of a revolving door from the offseason through the end of the preseason. Kendall Fuller joined the team via trade and has started every game along with returning cornerback Steven Nelson. The Chiefs signed David Amerson as a free agent, but cut him at the end of camp.
Safety Robert Golden asked for and received his release during training camp, and Sorensen’s leg injury forced him to start the season on injured reserve. Veteran cornerback Orlando Scandrick signed during the middle of the preseason, while the Chiefs acquired safety Jordan Lucas and rookie cornerback Charvarius Ward via trade and signed Parker in the final week of the preseason.
Parker has stepped right into a starting safety spot, while Scandrick has been the team’s third corner as Fuller has bumped to the slot. After only playing on special teams in the first four games, Lucas has started the past three games at safety and played linebacker in some nickel and dime packages.
Lynn Worthy
Lynn Worthy covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.
This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 4:30 PM.