Getty Former Indianapolis Colts running back Zack Moss.
Though the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason will be partly graded based on the moves they make, they will also be graded on the moves they don’t make.
Arrowhead Addict’s Matt Conner highlighted a move the team didn’t make but he feels should have:
Signing running back Zack Moss.
The 26-year-old back signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals early on in free agency, which Conner believes is a price the Chiefs can afford.
“That price tag of $8M over two seasons is quite affordable for a known quantity and the Chiefs could use that sort of reliability next to Isiah Pacheco after watching him endure two shoulder surgeries last calendar year,” Conner wrote on March 26. “Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon are both free agents likely to find new teams, so it’s not as if the Chiefs already have answers in house either.”
What to Know About Zack Moss
Zack Moss, who is cousins with former NFL receivers Santana and Sinorice Moss, entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2020 out of Utah.
Since entering the NFL, durability concerns and inconsistent production led Moss to a backup role behind veteran Devin Singletary in Buffalo’s backfield.
On November 1, 2022, the Bills traded Moss and a conditional 2023 sixth-round pick that can turn into a fifth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for running back Nyheim Hines. Moss finished his stint in Buffalo with 917 rushing yards and 10 total touchdowns (8 rushing, 2 receiving) in 44 regular season games played for the Bills, according to Pro Football Reference.
With star running back Jonathan Taylor holding out for a contract early during the 2023 regular season, Moss was thrust into the RB1 role in Indy and thrived. From Weeks 2-5 (he was inactive Week 1), Moss rushed for 445 yards and 3 touchdowns. His production dipped once Taylor returned to the lineup in Week 5 and finished the season with 794 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on 4.3 yards per carry.
Moss’s two-year, $8 million deal with the Bengals is essentially a one-year deal due to him having no guaranteed money in year two of the deal. He has $3 million guaranteed in 2024.
Moss’s cap hits for 2024 and 2025 are $2.9 million and $4.9 million, according to Over The Cap.
Would Zack Moss Have Fit Well With Chiefs?
Though Moss and Pacheco would have given the Chiefs a physical 1-2 punch in the backfield, $8 million — albeit $3 million total guaranteed — was a hefty price for Kansas City to pay considering its financial situation at the time Moss agreed to sign with Cincinnati.
Before the Chiefs traded L’Jarius Sneed on March 22, they only had around $12 million in cap space. But they were only in the positive cap-wise because quarterback Patrick Mahomes restructured his contract to free up cap space on March 13.
Moss agreed to terms on a contract with the Bengals on March 12, which was during the legal tampering period.
The two-time defending Super Bowl champions are better off finding depth for the backfield through the draft. This year’s RB class doesn’t have a lot of high-end talent but does have several players who can be productive in an NFL backfield.
If there’s one team we can trust will find a late-round gem at the RB position, it’s the Chiefs.
Pacheco — who accumulated 935 rushing yards and 9 total touchdowns (7 rushing, 2 receiving) — was a seventh-round pick in 2022.