Getty Jacksonville Jaguars edge rusher Josh Allen.
The Kansas City Chiefs trading for former New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney during their bye week wasn’t the only move the defending AFC West champions are trying to make ahead of the NFL’s November 1 trade deadline. The Chiefs want to add talent at another position as well.
On October 22, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported that Kansas City reached out to the Carolina Panthers about potentially trading for defensive end Brian Burns. This showed the Chiefs’ interest in adding to their pass-rush department. And the Panthers weren’t the only team that Kansas City reached out to about pass rushers.
Chiefs Called Jags About Edge Rusher
The Chiefs have also reached out to the Jacksonville Jaguars about former first-round edge rusher Josh Allen, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“The Chiefs have checked on the availability of (Josh) Allen, and are similarly looking for another edge rusher, though they may be a little more reluctant to part with their 2023 first-rounder,” Breer wrote on October 29.
The reluctance of the Chiefs to trade their 2023 first-round pick has to do with the fact that Kansas City is hosting the 2023 NFL Draft. Owner Clark Hunt has made it publicly known that he wants the Chiefs to have a first-round pick in that draft. So, if Kansas City were to trade its first-rounder prior to the draft then they better find a way to get another one before draft day.
Allen entered the NFL as the 7th overall pick of the Jaguars in the 2019 NFL Draft. He burst onto the scene with a rookie campaign that included 23 quarterback hits, 11 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks. Since then, Allen’s production on the field has been much quieter; he accumulated 10 sacks during the next two seasons and has 3 sacks in seven games this season, per Pro Football Reference.
Allen is in the fourth year of his rookie deal and had his $11.5 million fifth-year option picked up by Jacksonville. That means any team that trades for him has until the 2024 offseason to agree to a new deal with Allen.
KC Not Entirely Out on OBJ
The Kadarius Toney trade added another young talented playmaker to Kansas City’s receiver room. It also presumably took them out of the Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes as the veteran receiver nears full recovery from a torn ACL.
However, Breer pumped the brakes on that narrative.
“The Chiefs landing Kadarius Toney isn’t an acknowledgment that the Chiefs are out on Odell Beckham Jr., but I think it is a tell that their higher priority would be finding another pass rusher at this point,” Breer wrote. “For a team not working with a ton of cap space, Toney represents a more affordable way to add to Patrick Mahomes’s weaponry.”
Twitter users reacted to this news along with the news of Kansas City checking in on Josh Allen.
“This could very well go gown and just be a matter of what it’s going to take,” one Twitter user wrote. “I would think if Allen was NOT available, Veach would have found that out in the same conversation. Or am I thinking too much into this #chiefskingdom??”
“To me, the only incentive to get OBJ, would be so that Buffalo doesn’t get him and as a decoy, until he gets up to speed. I doubt we land him,” another user wrote.
@Jacobs71 To me, the only incentive to get OBJ, would be so that Buffalo doesn’t get him and as a decoy, until he gets up to speed. I doubt we land him.
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Chiefs Gauged Trade Availability of Pro Bowl Pass Rusher: Report