The Atlanta Falcons need tackle help. You know this, I know this, Raheem Morris knows this, Michael Penix knows this with a sense of foreboding deep within his bones. With Kaleb McGary and Storm Norton likely to miss at least the first several weeks of the 2025 NFL season, tackle help should be on the way for a group that otherwise features Elijah Wilkinson, Jack Nelson, and Brandon Parker. We don’t really want any of those guys starting for very long in 2025, no offense intended.
So what will Atlanta
do? ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pitched a series of trades he thinks teams could make before all the cuts roll in, and the one he’s got the Falcons down for is legitimately intriguing. It involves moving Clark Phillips to Kansas City for tackle Wanya Morris and a 2027 sixth round pick, giving Kansas City quality outside corner depth and giving the Falcons a starting right tackle for their hour of need.
With that being said, Morris is a more valuable player than it might seem. He was better at right tackle than he was at left tackle, and the 2023 third-round pick will make $2.6 million over the next two seasons. In a market in which Dan Moore and current Chiefs lineman Jaylon Moore received $15 million or more per season in free agency, Morris would have meaningful value if he were on the open market.
If the Chiefs plan to play Suamataia at guard while using Moore as their swing tackle, they could justify trading Morris. Doing so would land them some needed cornerback depth in Phillips, who might be on the bubble to make the 53-man roster in Atlanta. The third-year pro has been solid as a reserve corner over his first two years, though he has some concerns as a tackler. Phillips is dealing with a rib injury, but he could settle in later this season as a fourth cornerback in Kansas City.
This does make a lot of sense for both teams, even if I have no idea if Atlanta would be giving up or receiving the pick here (I’d be inclined to think they’d surrender it). Phillips is rapidly getting buried with the Falcons, but remains a talented cornerback with some upside and relative youth, something teams like the Chiefs, Colts, and Dolphins could all badly use right now. Morris, meanwhile, has been solid at right tackle and is young himself, giving the Falcons a chance to audition a player for a long-term role at swing tackle or even starting right tackle with McGary’s future with the Falcons now less certain despite his recent extension.
Even if the Falcons have to give up a late pick to make this work, I’d fully support the trade. The Falcons can’t and shouldn’t let their right tackle woes derail the season, and while I like Phillips, he may well be looking for a fresh start elsewhere in his own right. We’ll see what Atlanta does, and whether Morris might actually be on the table for them.
