Should the Kansas City Chiefs trade for Le’veon Bell?
By Kody Latham
Le’Veon Bell is available for trade. Should Brett Veach make a move for one of the leagues best-running backs two years ago?
The Kansas City Chiefs have been going through a lot of change this offseason. Whether that be from former draft picks like Mitch Morse, Steven Nelson, or Chris Conely moving on. Longtime fan favorites Justin Houston and Eric Berry cut. Off the field issues that Tyreek Hill and former Chiefs running back, Kareem Hunt are dealing with. Or, by acquiring players like Frank Clark and Darron Lee through trades. The roster as it currently sits is a very different than the one that took the field last season.
Brett Veach has been aggressive in making this Kansas City Chiefs roster ready to compete for a Super Bowl this upcoming season. Yet for all his work, an unexpected opportunity may have presented itself to improve the roster even further. No, it is not trading for a Vikings cornerback. Instead, John Clayton recently stated on 93.7 The Fan that recently appointed New York Jets Jets general manager and head coach Adam Gase would be open to trade running back Le’Veon Bell.
Gase has been vocal about the fact that he did not want to give a running back a massive contract this offseason. The Jets head coach could be looking to get out from underneath Bell’s contract so that any incoming GM will have more room to improve the roster in other areas. If this is indeed the case, and Bell is available for trade, should Veach be interested?
The Chiefs already have quite a few talented backs in Damien Willams, Carlos Hyde, Darwin Thompson, and Darrel Willams. Why would Kansas City feel the need to make this trade? Well, the Chiefs are currently looking for a way to replace the production that Kareem Hunt brought to the team. Bell had over 1,900 yards from scrimmage in his last season playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Will Bell likely repeat that? No. However, there isn’t a skill player currently on the roster (pending Hill’s status) that even can reach those heights and alter a game like Le’Veon Bell can.
Not only would Bell become the best skill position player on the roster, he is also much more affordable than he was as a free agent just several weeksa go. Brandon Kiley of 610 Sports broke down the cap situation, and Kansas City would pay Bell $3.5 million this year and $13 million next year. The Chiefs would not be tied to Bell long term either. After 2020, Kansas City would be able to move on from Bell in 2021 if they designate him as a post-June 1st cut. If Bell was designated as a post-June 1st cut the Chiefs would take on $4 million in dead cap spaced out over 2021 and 2022 while regaining $11.5 million all in 2021.
With the cap space not a huge issue like it was when Bell was a free agent, the only other obstacle would be what it costs to acquire him. This is where things are a bit tricky because there isn’t a precedent of trading a running back of Bell’s caliber. If it is like Kiley said in his breakdown of the cap space and only costs a third-round pick or less, then it should be a no-brainer for Veach to pull the trigger. If the Chiefs wanted to be extra cap savvy, they could try and make the trade post-June 1st. If they were to do this and throw in Hyde, they would end up with no dead cap space from Hyde this season and would save $800K against the cap.
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Kansas City is a team looking to win now. Anything less than a Super Bowl would a be a disappointment for this roster after reaching the AFC Championship and being one offsides penalty away from going to the big game. Trading for Bell would go a long way to ensuring Mahomes and the Chiefs have the best chance to make a major push for the Lombardi Trophy.