The Jacksonville Jaguars still have Brian Thomas Jr. on their roster, and there’s just two games left for the Jags before the NFL trade deadline.
Thus far, the Jaguars appear to be standing firm in the idea that they won’t be trading BTJ even as he has fallen out of favor in Jacksonville.
That won’t stop the speculation, and until the deadline passes with Thomas still on the Jacksonville roster, it still seems to be a very likely outcome that he gets dealt.
The latest concept out there is one of the most fascinating, for a couple of reasons, and it involves the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brian Thomas Jr. to Chiefs Trade Pitch
ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote on Tuesday about an idea that would send Thomas to the Chiefs.
The most interesting aspect of Solak’s pitch is that it isn’t just Thomas for a draft pick. That’s the kind of trade the Jags, who want to contend for a Super Bowl this season, would likely avoid. They don’t want to worsen their current roster considerably.
This proposal, though, would send Thomas to the Chiefs for WR Xavier Worthy and a third-round pick.
“Jacksonville benched Thomas in the second half of its Week 6 game,” Solak writes. “The only value the Jaguars were getting from him was theoretical field stretching — Worthy can do much the same, and Mahomes and the Chiefs can give Thomas a chance to rediscover his 2024 form in a new zip code.”
BTJ on Chiefs
Thomas would become one of the Chiefs’ top pass catchers.
They’ve been playing recently without Rashee Rice, and they already lost Tyquan Thornton to a season-ending injury.
Thomas would see tons of snaps by default, and the hope for Kansas City is that they’d rejuvenate him in such a way that he looks more like the top-10 pick who was a star as a rookie.
Xavier Worthy on Jags
Worthy is a speed-burner without as much polish as a wideout as Thomas showed earlier in his career.
Still, like Solak writes, that can have value for the Jaguars in a deep receiving group. Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers could remain the more consistent pass catchers, while Worthy could put pressure on the defense with his speed.
Getting both Worthy and a third-rounder for Thomas feels like pretty close to the peak value of what the Jaguars could pull off if they choose to do a BTJ trade before the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
Jaguars’ Brian Thomas Jr. Trade Pitch Swaps With Kansas City Chiefs WR