Which Chiefs players could be on the trade block heading into training camp?
Kansas City Chiefs / Jamie Squire/GettyImages
After winning back-to-back Super Bowls, you certainly would expect the Kansas City Chiefs to have a lot of players going out the door and not a lot of retention across the board on the roster. That’s typically how the life cycle is in the NFL — if you get lucky enough to build a championship-caliber team, you still have to reload and reset every handful of years. Certainly as you begin to pay guys big-money contracts.
But the Kansas City Chiefs are an intriguing blend of new faces and a lot more familiar ones than you would expect. It’s part of the reason why this team has been able to keep its “dynasty” card. Despite some bigger losses, the Chiefs have really kept their core intact and, as a result, they have a lot more 53-man roster players than their roster can reasonably hold.
So some trades could be on the horizon…
Let’s look at a few potential trade candidates for GM Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid.
1. Kadarius Toney, WR
Could Kadarius Toney actually be traded? Well, maybe. The Chiefs might have a harder time finding a trade partner to take Toney off their hands than the Giants did when they initially traded Toney to Kansas City a couple of years ago. The former first-round pick is entering a contract year in 2024, and the Chiefs have not even gotten 250 yards from scrimmage out of him in a single regular season.
Toney played a significant role for the Chiefs in the 2022 playoffs, but that’s been about it. Despite a lot of moving parts at this position, Kansas City has not been able to rely on him.
Again, it doesn’t bode super well for his trade value, but you never know with former first-round picks. General managers and coaches around the league all believe they can get the best out of guys, although it’s possible that if teams see that Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes couldn’t get more than 250 yards from scrimmage out of this guy, what hope do they have?
Speed will always entice.
2. Skyy Moore, WR
Although the Chiefs have invested quite a bit of draft capital in the wide receiver position at this point, hits have been difficult to come by. One player who is in a crucial offseason right now is former second-round pick Skyy Moore, who apparently didn’t have the best OTAs.
According to Matt Conner of Arrowhead Addict:
“The downside here is that Skyy Moore’s name is connected with further struggles which only bolsters the narrative that’s been written about him to date. There’s plenty of time in camp to alter perception, but this preseason might be Moore’s last if he can’t earn more trust in the offense in ’24.”
– Matt Conner
The Chiefs went out this offseason and added both Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy to the mix at receiver, which could spell certain doom for Moore in terms of his overall playing time. Where are the snaps going to come from unless he’s replacing someone who’s injured?
On that note, Moore suffered a season-ending injury last year (knee strain) and hasn’t proven any sort of reliability in the offense to this point. It’s tough to imagine a receiver having troubles acclimating to an offense with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, but if the Chiefs don’t like what they see from Moore this offseason, they could very well ship him off to a team who still may have the ink drying on his NFL draft report from 2022.
Moore is very talented, and playing receiver in the NFL isn’t as simple as just stepping into a great situation like Moore’s got in Kansas City. With that being said, if he doesn’t look good at training camp, he could be a surprise name sent packing by the Chiefs.
3. Ian Book/Chris Oladokun, QB
When it comes to the NFL, quarterbacks are the most valuable currency you can possibly have. The Kansas City Chiefs obviously have the best quarterback in the NFL, and he’s got a new backup for the 2024 season.
The Chiefs signed former Eagles 2nd overall pick Carson Wentz this offseason to back up Mahomes and from the sounds of things, he’s been looking really good out there on the practice field. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce shared some insight earlier this offseason on his podcast:
“Carson… he’s absolutely killing it, man. He’s dicing them up every time he goes out there. He’s throwing bombs and throwing lasers, man. He’s got all the attributes, and you can see it when he’s out there on the practice field for sure.”
– Travis Kelce
If the Chiefs have faith in Wentz backing up Mahomes — and they should — then things could be interesting if there’s a breakout offseason from someone like Chris Oladokun or Ian Book. This might be a longshot among longshots, but let’s just say one of those two guys ends up having a huge preseason, and some team out there suffers an injury at the quarterback position.
Which happens every year for a number of teams.
It’s not impossible to think that either Oladokun or Book could end up having some trade value at the end of the preseason. If only because they spent time in Kansas City, you could see teams around the league wanting a piece of what the Chiefs are doing. It’s unlikely the Chiefs will be keeping three quarterbacks on the roster, which would make these guys likely subject to waivers.
Maybe some team out there will like one of them enough to potentially send something Brett Veach’s way as opposed to just hoping they will fall through waivers.
4. Irv Smith Jr., TE
Once again, it’s going to be very difficult for offensive skill players to make the Chiefs’ final 53-man roster, even some veteran players like Irv Smith Jr.
Smith joined the Chiefs this offseason undoubtedly hoping that this one-year deal in Kansas City — and hopefully some good luck health-wise — could lead to a big payday in 2025:
“Ultimately, looking at different teams, with the success that Kansas City’s had obviously with Mahomes and being a part of [things with] Travis Kelce and Coach (Andy) Reid…The culture they’ve built here is a winning culture. It’s something that I’ve been around winners my whole life. I just felt like for me, it was the best opportunity, the best fit and somewhere I can succeed and just showcase my ability.”
– Irv Smith Jr.
Noah Gray played almost 600 snaps for this Chiefs’ offense last year. Then, Kansas City was able to land Jared Wiley out of TCU in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. There’s certainly a path to potentially keeping all four guys at the tight end position – along with Travis Kelce, of course – but there’s not going to be any guarantee for a player like Smith.
If the Chiefs like what they see from both Noah Gray and Jared Wiley behind Travis Kelce, they should do whatever they can to maximize that investment in Irv Smith Jr., a former second-round pick who could help other tight end-needy teams around the league. Smith signed a very team-friendly deal after playing for the Bengals last year, and he’s going to need to utilize his offseason with the Chiefs as an opportunity not only to audition for their final roster but for all 31 other teams as well.
5. Tershawn Wharton, DL
The Kansas City Chiefs have a lot of really solid personnel on their defensive front in 2024.
When you look at the edge position, even factoring in Charles Omenihu missing time as he makes his way back from February knee surgery (torn ACL), the Chiefs have an enviable group which includes George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, and 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
On the interior defensive line, the Chiefs have one of the biggest stars in the league in veteran Chris Jones. Derrick Nnadi played the second-most snaps among Chiefs defensive linemen last year and third behind them was former UDFA Tershawn Wharton, who had a career-high five QB hits last season.
There could be interest from Wharton around the league after he played nearly 400 snaps last year and showed some really nice things. Why would the Chiefs part ways with someone who has developed within their system? Well, they are bringing back a couple of key depth pieces in Matt Dickerson and Neil Farrell. Farrell, in particular, seems like the type of player who deserves more snaps.
The Chiefs could be looking at someone like Wharton as having maximized his potential within their defense and try to get value for him before he leaves in free agency during the 2025 offseason.
6. Montrell Washington, WR/KR
On a similar note to what’s already been mentioned about other wide receivers on this Chiefs roster, the situation for Montrell Washington certainly has to do with depth at the position, or at least guys the Chiefs might be more invested in.
With that being said, let’s just assume for the moment that all goes well this offseason for the Chiefs at receiver. Skyy Moore shows some good stuff at training camp, Kadarius Toney stays healthy and proves he can be a valuable weapon, Mecole Hardman contributes offensively and on special teams, and other aspects of the roster go well. Louis Rees-Zammit proves to be an effective option in the return game…
If all things go well for the Chiefs at the offensive skill positions, including Montrell Washington having a strong offseason, he could be a pretty coveted player on the trade market. If the Chiefs don’t have any openings in the return game and Washington proves to be a standout here, the NFL’s new rules regarding the kickoff return game could really drive up interest around the league.
Washington was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 5th round back in 2022 for his skills as a return specialist. If he can prove his value in that phase of the game, it’s going to have every team around the league calling Brett Veach and finding out whether or not he’s available.
The NFL changed the kickoff return rule at the perfect time as Washington has dynamic skills as a return specialist both in the kicking game and on punt returns.