Getty Carolina Panthers wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr.
With so much young and unproven talent within the wide receiver room heading into the 2023 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs could look to add more bodies to that room during the season if it comes at a midseason discount prior to the trade deadline.
Arrowhead Addict’s Matt Connor has a player in mind that could potentially be thrust into that scenario and wind up in a Chiefs uniform as a result: Carolina Panthers 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver, Terrace Marshall Jr.
“If the season starts to slip away on a team that’s starting all over, Marshall would likely be best served on the trade block as he enters the second half of his rookie deal,” Conner wrote on July 9. “A team like the Panthers should be acquiring future draft assets as they can to stockpile the roster for Young’s first few years in the league.
“For the Chiefs, Marshall would be the sort of Kadarius Toney-like grab for this year, a way to grab cost-controlled young talent and keep the wide receiver room as deep as possible while also evaluating a talented player up close if given a change of scenery. If Marshall could step into the shoes of someone like MVS, the cost savings there could be tremendous.”
Terrace Marshall Unproven Through 2 Seasons
Terrace Marshall, 23, was a second-round pick of the Panthers in 2021. Since then he has2 played in a total of 27 games over the last two seasons and registered 45 receptions on 77 targets for 628 yards and 1 touchdown, according to Pro Football Reference.
With new head coach Frank Reich and 2023 first overall pick quarterback Bryce Young leading the new regime in Carolina, Marshall’s time with the Panthers could be short-lived if he continues to underwhelm on the field. That’s why, if Kansas City doesn’t land veteran free agent DeAndre Hopkins, the Chiefs could pursue a trade for Marshall, especially if none or very few of the team’s young talent at receiver impress throughout the first month of the 2023 regular season.
But the defending Super Bowl champions will likely need to free up cap space if they want to sign anyone this season.
“According to Over The Cap’s effective cap space (the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster), the Chiefs are 32nd in the NFL with $409,942 in available cap space.
If the Chiefs were to pull off a trade for Marshall, then it would be the second year in a row that Kansas City’s front office acquired a young talented receiver midseason. In 2022, the Chiefs acquired receiver Kadarius Toney — a 2021 first-round pick — from the New York Giants in exchange for a third-round compensatory pick and a sixth-round pick.
Chiefs Still in Contact With DeAndre Hopkins: Rumors
As mentioned before, the Chiefs would not attempt to add Terrace Marshall via trade if they were to sign DeAndre Hopkins. That’s because Hopkins’ salary would likely be too large for the team to add another body to that position group.
Hopkins is seeking a contract that is similar to Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-year, $15 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason, according to The Athletic’s Tim Graham.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed on July 6 that Kansas City is still pursuing Hopkins. But a Chris Jones extension needs to happen first before the Chiefs can take the next step toward signing DHop.
“Well the Chiefs have kept in contact — I’m told — with DeAndre Hopkins’ camp,” Fowler said as transcribed by Chiefs Wire. “They have some interest. The problem is money. They don’t have much of it. They’re really tight on the salary cap. If they extend DT Chris Jones, who has a $28 million cap hit, that would free up some money where they could go after Hopkins a little more aggressively. But that deal might not happen until closer to training camp or even after. So, I would consider the Chiefs on the periphery right now with the Titans and Patriots, who hosted Hopkins in for a visit a couple of weeks ago, still firmly in the mix.”
Chiefs training camp officially begins on Sunday, July 23.
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