The Kansas City Chiefs were apparently not looking for a home-run move at wide receiver before this week’s NFL trade deadline.
The Chiefs added Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs, one of the names mentioned most often in trade rumors leading up to Tuesday’s deadline. But Kansas City — and the rest of the NFL — passed on seeking what would have been the biggest target of the trade season.
Cowboys Fielded No Calls on George Pickens
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens was seen as a potential wild-card trade target, with no clarity on whether the Cowboys will give him a contract extension after this season. ESPN analyst Ben Solak suggested the Chiefs could take a major swing at Pickens.
“The Cowboys have 2025 trade acquisition Pickens and 2026 trade acquisition Joey Porter Jr. playing on contract years, and it’s hard to imagine they extend both ex-Steelers at market rates,” Solak wrote in late October. “If Pickens would recoup a third-round compensatory pick in free agency, the Chiefs can sweeten the pot with a future pick conditional on production levels and give the Cowboys their third-round comp pick without having to manipulate the formula this offseason. How the Cowboys play in Weeks 8 and 9 (vs. Cardinals, at Colts) will have a big impact here.”
But the trade deadline came and went without the Chiefs even checking in on Pickens. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reported that Pickens was expected to get some level of interest, but didn’t generate any calls across the NFL.
“The franchise didn’t receive phone calls about Pickens, two people with knowledge of the situation told the Dallas Morning News,” Watkins reported.
Chiefs Ready for Josh Downs to Make Impact
The Chiefs did fill a significant need with the addition of Downs, who will help fill the void left by Tyquan Thornton’s injury and some underperformance from the rest of the wide receiver room. Head coach Andy Reid said on Friday that Downs will be ready to play this weekend.
Downs thanked the Colts for their support and said he was looking forward to contributing to the Chiefs in any way he could.
“It’s good when guys welcome you and accept you. I feel like it’s my turn to earn their respect on the field, and earn their respect as a teammate,” Downs said, via The Associated Press. “Just do anything I can to learn the offense as fast as possible. I don’t want to be a guy asking what the play is, what the formation is. That’s when you get left behind. I want to learn the offense as fast as possible.”
Chiefs Trade Decision on George Pickens Revealed After Deadline Passed