The most obvious free agent signing for the Kansas City Chiefs is now off the table

Whether or not it was the right move to make, the Kansas City Chiefs at least had one obvious move in front of them they could make if and when they were ready to further bolster the wide receiver position. That option is now off the table.

In a year in which the Chiefs have already welcomed back several familiar faces for the sake of upgrading the roster, the next name on the list of players who made sense to bring back belonged to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Now, however, that opportunity is no longer in the cards given that he's now gainfully employed elsewhere.

On Monday, the New Orleans Saints made quick work of securing Valdes-Scantling with a contract offer, per NFL reporter Tom Pelissero. Valdes-Scantling visited with the team for a physical on the same day.

The Bills released Valdes-Scantling in recent weeks for the sake of going younger at the position after watching less experienced players pass over him on the depth chart. For their part, the Chiefs also released MVS back in February before free agency began as one of their first moves to reconstruct the roster for a third consecutive Super Bowl run. However, Valdes-Scantling remained available as a free agent for the entirety of the offseason.

The Saints have taken Marquez Valdes-Scantling off the table for WR needy teams.

Any possible re-signing of Valdes-Scantling was never going to set Chiefs Kingdom ablaze, but it was the most obvious move on the table. Rather than make a trade and lose any draft assets, MVS would have cost nothing but a veteran minimum deal to bring him back. He was also a ready-made addition who was already familiar with the playbook and the roster.

Given the news that JuJu Smith-Schuster, another recent import of a familiar name, will not be able to play in Week 8 due to a hamstring injury, the Chiefs are going to need bodies who can come in and play immediately. Valdes-Scantling fit that bill, even if it was not the sexiest option.

Now that the Saints have signed Valdes-Scantling, the number of former players who could come in and play for the Chiefs is rather small. Perhaps Demarcus Robinson could be reacquired from the L.A. Rams. Or maybe the door should close on any reunions and the Chiefs should look for the best talent available and trust their ability to catch up. (This would be the preferred approach by pretty much every Chiefs fan at this stage.)

At this point, the Chiefs could kick the tires on trades for players in whom they've previously expressed an interest. DeAndre Hopkins and Diontae Johnson are both on that list for miserable franchises like the Panthers and Titans, respectively. However, the Chiefs have stood pat so far as other teams have made trades—such as Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills.

The Chiefs and other teams have until November 5 to agree to any official trades before the league's deadline.