Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Each week, watch for your opportunity to submit your Kansas City Chiefs questions in The Feed, which is found on AP’s home page.
After the Chiefs kept up their winning ways on Monday night with a 28-7 victory over the Washington Commanders, let’s see what’s on our readers’ minds ahead of a crucial Week 9 showdown with the Buffalo Bills.
Texas747Driver asks:
Who are potential players the Chiefs may target prior to the trade deadline?
Several of this week’s questions surrounded
Tuesday’s trade deadline. I do expect the Chiefs to make at least one minor move. With the team’s bye coinciding with the deadline, however, we may need to wait until early next week.
After losing rookie Omarr Norman-Lott to an ACL tear, I was very confident the Chiefs would acquire a defensive tackle via trade. With veteran Mike Pennel returning to Kansas City (and hopefully taking some early-down snaps from Chris Jones’ plate), I see an interior lineman as less likely. The Chiefs may now turn their eyes to any available outside pass-rushing help on the free-agent market. We are seeing veterans on expiring contracts start to move, and I could see the Chiefs being modestly aggressive in adding someone there.
Running back is the other position that has been widely tied to the Chiefs. With starter Isiah Pacheco reportedly in danger of missing time with an MCL sprain (and Kareem Hunt being managed in practice as the season takes its toll), the team’s running back rotation could quickly become problematic. If Pacheco sits, veteran Elijah Mitchell (inactive in all eight games this season) will probably get a look against the Bills. But the Chiefs probably need to add a back — whether they can find a dynamic upgrade or an option to simply keep the room at its current level: unspectacular — but acceptable.
I generally refrain from speculating on individual players, but I would keep an eye on the Tennessee Titans, who are rumored to be considering a fire sale. They have some options at Kansas City’s positions of need who may not be in the blueprint for rebuilding that franchise. The connection between Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and his former lieutenant Mike Borgonzi (who is now running the show in Tennessee) makes this something to watch.
Beaker3012 asks:
Is there concern for the offensive line? Several plays against Washington gave flashbacks to games that we’re all trying to forget.
I think the Chiefs have good depth on the offensive line. Jaylon Moore and Mike Caliendo are better than what most teams have for their sixth and seventh linemen. For that matter, very few teams have an eighth-best option as good as Wanya Morris. Most teams have at least one replacement-level option taking starting offensive line snaps — and enter every week hoping the other four starters can cover that deficiency.
That said, the Chiefs will eventually run into trouble if they have to continue playing multiple backups. Hopefully, Trey Smith will make it back in Week 9 to face the Bills. The drop-off from Smith to Caliendo at right guard was obvious on Monday — particularly when lined up against former first-round defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.
Moore had a rough first half against Washington, although he seemed to settle in after halftime. I suspect some of the early issues stemmed from Moore having two full games of film — and Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt (two widely respected veteran defensive minds) found things they could exploit.
While Moore’s later adjustment was commendable, Kansas City would definitely benefit from rookie Josh Simmons being available to play left tackle against the Denver Broncos’ fearsome front in Week 11.
I do not see the Chiefs addressing offensive-line depth — or finding upgrades over in-house backup options — either through the trade market or street free agency.
KCnOH asks:
What will it take (other than the obvious answer: winning) to claim the division and get the No. 1 seed, considering how well the Broncos, Colts, Bills and Chargers are playing? Will the Chiefs catch up to them and surpass them?
Let’s be reasonable: if I could accurately predict the playoff field in late October, that information would be kept behind a (very expensive) paywall.
The Chiefs have now slid into the seventh spot of the hypothetical AFC playoff picture. Fortunately, they have five head-to-head matchups against teams ahead of them. The Chiefs control their playoff-seeding destiny against the Broncos, Bills, and Chargers. That’s not true for the one-loss Colts — but Indianapolis has a much tougher second-half schedule than what it has faced so far this season.
One team that I think should be taken very seriously is the 6-2 New England Patriots. Seven of their remaining games are against teams with three or fewer wins. If they pull off the season sweep of Buffalo, they may very well receive the AFC’s bye.
While the Chiefs are in a great position to get back on top of the AFC West, I am pessimistic about passing the rest of the AFC’s division winners.
RIChief asks:
How much cap space would the Chiefs get for trading cornerback Kristian Fulton?
After only dressing for two games in Kansas City, the two-year, $20 million contract Fulton signed in March is increasingly unpopular. The team’s front office might very well be (privately) displeased that week after week, Fulton continues to be a healthy scratch. For their part, the coaching staff probably expected Fulton to have been more available in the offseason to learn the defense. Most of all, no one expected Jaylen Watson and rookie Nohl Williams to render him so expendable.
The Chiefs will almost certainly not be trading the cornerback. Doing so would open a pro-rated portion of his 2025 base salary of $4 million and wipe his entire $10 million base salary for 2026 off the books. But he would leave behind a dead-money charge of $3 million in both years to cover his already paid $6 million signing bonus.
The contract is not aging well, but there’s also no real reason to move on. Kansas City’s system requires such physicality for cornerbacks that Fulton’s services will almost certainly be needed at some point to cover an injury — and with Watson set for free agency next season, there are some other questions about the position. While I still predict Trent McDuffie and the Chiefs will agree to an extension early in the offseason, we can’t rule out the possibility that negotiations won’t pan out — and thereby force a trade. At an increasingly expensive position, the Chiefs probably wouldn’t find a cornerback upgrade for the $10 million they would save by moving on from Fulton.
Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Keep watching The Feed for a chance to ask your questions.
