The Kansas City Chiefs are making a late addition to their offensive line before roster cutdowns, landing a veteran offensive lineman in a deal with the New York Giants.
NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport shared that the Chiefs sent a late-round draft pick to the Giants for an interior offensive lineman.
“The #Giants are trading G Joshua Ezeudu to the #Chiefs for a 2028 7th rounder, per me and @MikeGarafolo,” Rapoport wrote in a post on X. “Some depth to KC.”
Chiefs Add Depth to Offensive Line
Ezeudu came into the NFL as a third-round pick of the Giants in 2022, appearing in 33 games with 10 starts. He missed last season after being placed on injured reserve in August.
The Chiefs had some uncertainty in their offensive line. Reporter Ron Kopp Jr. of Arrowhead Pride noted that the team was trying to shift around Kahlil Benson to guard, a project with an unclear future.
“While the team tries to figure out if rookie Kahlil Benson can play guard, it’s worth keeping around interior backups like [Hunter] Nourzad and [Mike] Caliendo, who have been with the team for multiple years,” Kopp wrote.
Josh Ezeudu Was Odd Man Out in New York
The Giants had changing plans for Ezeudu, shifting him from tackle to guard. Head coach John Harbaugh explained that the team saw him as a better fit in the interior.
“The position flex is the idea, and you may have noticed he went back out to tackle in the fourth quarter, so the ability for him to play both guard and tackle, particularly on the right side, would be helpful for us,” Harbaugh told reporters, via USA Today’s Giants Wire.
“And that’s our thought. He’s kind of getting to the point now where we feel like he could swing right tackle, right guard. Right now we’re kind of keeping him off the left side and just keeping him to the right side, and that helps a little bit with some of the techniques. It’s like a hitter; he’s not a switch hitter right now on both sides, but he is playing both the inside position and the outside position. So, we think he’s ready for it, that he can handle it, and that gives us some position flexibility as a backup.”
NFL Trade: Chiefs Land Offensive Help in Deal With Giants