Getty Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson on February 2, 2020.
On the same day that the Kansas City Chiefs added a reserve wide receiver in former first-round draft pick Corey Coleman, an impending free agent went one step further in potentially leaving the organization.
NFL insider Adam Schefter first reported the free-agent visit on March 22.
Chiefs’ free-agent WR Demarcus Robinson is meeting with the Las Vegas Raiders, per source.
“Chiefs’ free-agent WR Demarcus Robinson is meeting with the Las Vegas Raiders,” he tweeted about the former Super Bowl champion pass-catcher.
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UPDATE: Robinson Agrees to Sign in Ultimate Betrayal
In an update at 5:23 p.m. CT, Schefter noted that Robinson did indeed sign with the bitter division rival, ending the wide-out’s six-year tenure with the Chiefs.
Former Chiefs’ WR Demarcus Robinson is signing a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, per @KatzBrosSports.
After GM Brett Veach signed JuJu Smith-Schuster, it became less likely that they’d be interested in bringing back Robinson to play a major role in 2022. Based on that, it behooved the former fourth-round pick to search for a new opportunity elsewhere.
With KC, Robinson would begin camp as a fourth or fifth wide receiver and a fifth or sixth pass-catching option. On the Raiders, he has a better shot of beating out a player like Bryan Edwards for a top-three role.
Robinson put up 466 yards off 45 receptions during his best campaign in 2020. Last season, he regressed to 25 catches for 264 yards after briefly testing the open market.
Veach ended up taking back the deep threat on a one-year deal in 2021, with less than $1 million in guarantees according to Over the Cap. It was the second-straight offseason that Robinson returned to Arrowhead on a one-year contract but this time he’ll take a one-year gamble in Vegas.
Now that ‘D-Rob’ has officially landed in Raider Nation, this should make for an interesting revenge angle whenever the two AFC West rivals meet in 2022.
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Deep Wide Receiver Class Offers Affordable Replacement
Supposedly, this year’s wide receiver draft class has plenty of sleeper potential. Putting two and two together, Veach could be planning to fill out his pass-catching depth in late April.
The roster currently has 13 players at the position if you include future contracts and Coleman, so the Chiefs don’t necessarily need quantity, but they could use one more quality low-round talent to compete for a Week 1 job.
The starting three are set for KC — Tyreek Hill, Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman — but there are a ton of question marks after that. What will Andy Reid get out of a flier like Justin Watson? Will a second year in the system help Josh Gordon make an impact? Is Cornell Powell ready for a larger role?
There is certainly some intrigue at this position for the Chiefs and that doesn’t leave much space for a middling 27-year old like Robinson, or even a coach’s favorite like Byron Pringle.
Veach has two thirds, a fourth, and four seventh-rounders in the 2022 NFL draft. Expect at least one of those selections to be spent on an extra wide receiver weapon for Patrick Mahomes.