Kansas City Chiefs should call on these veteran cornerbacks
By Matt Conner
Byron Maxwell, Seattle Seahawks
Byron Maxwell might just be the best possible get for the Chiefs within all of the constraints involved.
Remember, we’re looking for players that could be readily available with a trade cost and contract obligation that all fit within what the Chiefs have or would want to do. A closer look at a situation brewing in Seattle (pun intended) shows that Maxwell could be a man on the outs, even as he’d likely be able to help a team like the Chiefs on the outside.
Maxwell is a player you’ll likely know as a well-traveled veteran cornerback who inked an incredible $63 million deal from the Philadelphia Eagles earlier in his career. Maxwell came into the NFL with the Seahawks and earned significant attention on the open market thanks to his Super Bowl pedigree and Chip Kelly’s influence to want to win the bidding war.
Fast forward a few years and Maxwell has now circled back to the Seahawks after a single season with the Eagles and a slightly longer stint with the Miami Dolphins. He’s now 30-years-old and relying more on experience and intelligence than fleet feet, but he proved last year that he can still provide very valuable snaps in pass coverage on the outside, even as he shifted left to right for the Seahawks.
The problem right now for Maxwell is that the young guys are looking good, even after Richard Sherman left for San Francisco. Shaq Griffin is sliding into Sherman’s spot on the left side, and Dontae Johnson is making a serious push for Maxwell’s assumed spot on the other side. Tre Flowers and Justin Coleman are also aiming for serious playing time in a secondary that even includes former Chiefs DB Neiko Thorpe, Jeremy Boykins and Akeem King.
Given Maxwell’s one-year, $2 million deal, the Seahawks have no need to get rid of Maxwell on the open market, especially when his experience and versatility could pay off in the secondary over the course of a full year. But if he’s knocked out of a starting spot, the Chiefs might be interested in working out a trade for a player who would immediately slot in an unquestioned starter on the outside opposite Steven Nelson.