Kansas City Chiefs trade deadline targets to improve the defense
By Scott Loring
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, it’s that he does not pull any punches when it comes to player acquisitions. If there’s a player out there whom Veach believes will improve this Kansas City Chiefs team, you best believe Veach is going to be in hot pursuit.
Speaking of not pulling any punches: This year’s version of the Chiefs has been a disappointment, and while the offense shoulders a lot of the blame for that, there are significantly fewer perceived holes in the offensive personnel than there are on the defensive side of the ball.
As we observed in Sunday’s article, 5 Chiefs offensive trade targets, the most difficult task for Veach is going to be his ability to make a relevant transaction while still keeping the Chiefs under the 2021 salary cap. Currently, the Chiefs have just under $3 million in cap space, so the team will have to be shrewd with any transaction in order to make the team better.
The Chiefs could even be looking past 2021 in a trade for a defender, as the team will have multiple decisions to make on all three levels of the defense next spring. Defensive end Frank Clark simply cannot play on his current contract in 2022. Something is going to have to change there. Defensive tackles Jarran Reed and Derrick Nnadi will both be free agents. Linebacker Anthony Hitchens is a cut candidate. Cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Tyrann Mathieu are both in a contract year. So the Chiefs could make any number of moves in an effort to shore up one of the league’s worst defenses.
Here are six defenders that the Chiefs could pursue before the NFL’s trade deadline (Tuesday, Nov. 2nd at 3 pm CST):