A potential Marquez Valdes-Scantling reunion wouldn't be the worst thing for the Chiefs

When former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was released by the Buffalo Bills following the team's acquisition of Amari Cooper on Tuesday, every Kansas City Chiefs fan collectively looked at each other and thought, "Are they really going to do this?".

It's been the year of reunions so far this year for Kansas City as they have brought back many familiar faces in search of depth across the board, almost to a hilarious degree. We've now seen the Chiefs bring in players who were past contributors as far back as 2018, including Kareem Hunt and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

With Valdes-Scantling now back on the board, and Kansas City now desperately in need of wide receiver help, the possibility almost seems too obvious not to happen. General Manager Brett Veach often will opt for familiarity even if it means acquiring a lesser talented player as opposed to the alternative and the Chiefs organization places a lot of value in players that know their system. 

Valdes-Scantling certainly fits the bill of someone that Kansas City would typically bring in. He was never going to remain in Kansas City at his old cap number and the Chiefs wanted to revamp their wide receiver corps, so they let go of Valdes-Scantling earlier this offseason. When attrition hits and a player who caught passes in crucial moments during the team's most recent Super Bowl run(s) comes available at a much lower cost than before, you know that the team is going to entertain the idea. This idea is very similar to Smith-Schuster returning to Kansas City just one year after signing a sizeable three-year deal with the New England Patriots and Mecole Hardman coming back after joining the New York Jets.

The memories aren't all fond of Valdes-Scantling though. He ended his Chiefs tenure with the highest drop rate in his two seasons with the team and was a big issue in the wide receiver room last year when the team needed his veteran leadership. While MVS gave us some good moments in the postseason and gave solid production at times, the opinion on him is largely mixed and a potential reunion may raise some eyebrows.

Despite how the move may be perceived, adding Valdes-Scantling back into the fold may not be the worst thing for Kansas City.

Chiefs reuniting with MVS isn't such a crazy thought

There is a caveat for Kansas City to consider when talking about adding MVS to the team again. Firstly, Valdes-Scantling shouldn't be viewed as the solution to Kansas City's wide receiver conundrum. There still is a world where MVS can contribute something to Kansas City's wide receiver room but plays a much smaller role than he did the previous two seasons while the Chiefs make another move at receiver in conjunction with MVS.

Let's just say Kansas City trades for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson. If the Chiefs still want to bring in MVS after that and sign him to the practice squad then, great. You probably won't find too many people complaining about that. Valdes-Scantling by himself, however, doesn't move the needle at all.

If Valdes-Scantling is added to the roster to displace Skyy Moore, that's also fine. Moore has brought the team nothing in three seasons whereas MVS at least has made some rather massive catches in the postseason and is probably still good for a few deep shots throughout the season.

Valdes-Scantling would easily be one of the best WR6's in the league. That's not saying too much, but quality depth has proven to be a major need at the wide receiver position for the Chiefs over the past couple of seasons and Valdes-Scantling gives something there.

Yes, Valdes-Scantling overall underperformed for Kansas City last time around, but he was also playing under different (and probably unfair) expectations. On a good team, Valdes-Scantling is probably your fourth wide receiver.

Last year, MVS was asked to be one of Mahomes' top pass-catchers and that was simply unrealistic from the beginning. If we look at 2022, when MVS was given a more appropriate role, he had a career-high in catches and over 600 yards receiving. If Valdes-Scantling is asked to play a complimentary role to JuJu Smith-Schuster, Xavier Worthy, and whoever else the Chiefs decide to bring in then we can probably expect a more positive result than what we got from MVS in 2023. 

It's not a stretch right now to say that the Kansas City Chiefs aren't stacked with reliable wide receivers. Expecting JuJu Smith-Schuster to have over 100 yards every game likely isn't a recipe for long-term success.

Giving Patrick Mahomes yet another familiar option with whom he's had a connection with before wouldn't be the worst move. Sure, it's not a move that would excite Chiefs Kingdom, nor should it. If that's all we get, then fans would have the right to feel disappointed if MVS is brought in under the assumption that he's all they need. However, Valdes-Scantling's experience in the offense that head coach Andy Reid has highlighted in a potential wide receiver addition could provide a slight boost and if he's used situationally instead of being given a majority of the snaps, he could prove to be a lot more efficient.

Don't be shocked to see Kansas City reunite with yet another former player in MVS, but before labeling his potential return a disaster or rushing to any kind of judgement, it's important to consider the context in which he'd be brought in. With only five healthy wide receivers at the moment, and only a few even being playable, MVS could be a plug and play option for right now until we can see if the Chiefs can swing a trade for a big name wide receiver.