Kansas City Chiefs trade targets: 6 cornerbacks worth considering
Patrick Peterson
I wrote a few days ago that the front office should look to cut a deal for Patrick Peterson before the trade deadline to improve the Chiefs depth chart. There seemed to be a mixed response about whether or not Chiefs fans believe Peterson to be a good fit. I’ll try and touch on some of the most common.
Some believe that the Cardinals won’t part ways with Peterson because he’s still in his prime and as far as the cornerback market goes, he’s pretty reasonable. On its face, this seems like a good argument. Why would you let one of your best players leave for another team?
The catch is that the Cardinals may not have as much power in this situation as you think. Sure, they could hold on to Patrick Peterson until his contract is up but why not get some trade value from him while you can. He’s already expressed a decided interest in leaving Arizona. Do we really think if Arizona doesn’t make the playoffs in the next couple years that he will resign? I can guarantee he won’t.
Some believe that Patrick Peterson is old, and therefore the Chiefs should look to other options. This is the most perplexing to me. In truth, Peterson is only 29 and in the prime of his career. He’s been to the Pro Bowl every single season and I doubt that will change for at least the next season or two. The Chiefs could presumably trade for him, keep him for the final two years of his contract, and then let him walk after helping them win a Super Bowl or two. His age isn’t really a factor here.
Finally, some wonder if he won’t be the same player coming off of whatever he was taking to get suspended for violating the NFL’s performance enhancing drug policy. This is probably the one with the most gray area. Yes, it’s possible he was taking something that was making a radical difference in his level of play.
However, the list of banned substances is pretty long and has some obscure items. It could be possible he was taking something minor and he will be fine. It could also be the other way around, but it’s tough to say for sure. There’s risk here, but the level of risk for the upside is something I think the Chiefs front office would be willing to take on.
All that said, there’s always the chance that the price is simply too high. If that’s the case, the Chiefs front office is in luck. There are five other targets they could look at to improve the Chiefs depth chart at the cornerback position.
Items to Note:
- Current Contract – Second Contract
- Years left till free agency – Two years
- Cap hit this/next season – $8 million/$13.2 million