The Kansas City Chiefs have their attention squarely set on finishing the goal they set out to accomplish before the season began, with only two games separating them from lifting the Lombardi Trophy following Super Bowl LVI. That said, as the rest of the league has moved on to potential player movement this offseason, teh Chiefs are being mentioned as a potential suitor for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr..
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN has begun to survey the potential free-agent destinations of some of football’s biggest and best pass catchers ($), of which Beckham is certainly one. In his analysis, he likes the Chiefs’ chances to step up and potentially sign him (along with a few other teams).
Fowler notes that the L.A. Rams, who signed Beckham to a one-year deal back in November after he was waived by the Cleveland Browns, might not have the cap room or positional interest to sign Beckham to the sort of money he could command. That said, it might also not be in Beckham’s best interest to chase the biggest check knowing it likely comes from a lesser team looking to spend its way to contention.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN says the Chiefs could be players for Odell Beckham Jr.
It’s in this context that Fowler brings up the Chiefs but it’s important to note that he doesn’t say there are definite sources linking them with interest. Rather he states that he wouldn’t be shocked to see it.
To his point, it’s true that the Chiefs have tried to find a solid import to bring in to aid the passing game for the last year, with Josh Gordon failing to turn into anything meaningful on the field and JuJu Smith-Schuster, among others, rejecting the team’s efforts in free agency a year ago. It makes sense that if a player like Beckham were open to listening to an offer, the Chiefs would serve one up.
What’s important in a scenario like this, however, is for Beckham to realize that he’d play the part of a trio with wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce already established as go-to targets within Andy Reid‘s offense. It’s also true that the financial part of things would keep the Chiefs from being the biggest bidders on the free-agent landscape.
That might not be a stretch, however, since that’s the role OBJ is playing now. He’s catching passes along with Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and even Tyler Higbee at present. Next year, Robert Woods will be back. Even if he were to stay with the Rams, he’d have to deal with the same target-sharing mindset.
Would the Chiefs be interested? It certainly makes sense at the right price. The Chiefs will do something at wide receiver, likely in free agency and the draft given that Gordon, Demarcus Robinson, and Byron Pringle are all free agents (and that there’s a lack of dynamic youth at the position). Perhaps Fowler is right to connect some dots here.
For now, however, the Chiefs have a few other things to think about.