Getty New York Giants wide receiver Richie James.
The Kansas City Chiefs added to their wide receiver room on April 7 by agreeing to terms with wideout Richie James according to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo. The contract terms are unknown, but most fans approved of the signing regardless.
“Nice pickup. Vastly underrated WR. Chiefs continue to mine smart, cheaper labor,” one Twitter user wrote.
@MikeGarafolo @StayRuthless37 Nice pickup. Vastly underrated WR. Chiefs continue to mine smart, cheaper labor.
“Richie James was a very important piece for the Giants last season. Now he’s going to catch passes from Patrick Mahomes. Chiefs fans (and fantasy owners) take notice,” Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News wrote. “Side note: James won the Giants snaps initially available to Kadarius Toney last year. Now teammates again.”
“Dude was really good to end the year with the giants,” another user wrote. “Had a 4 game stretch where he had 26 catches, 269 yards & 4 TD’s…had 11 catches total in the Giants two playoff games too.”
“I like this signing (assuming it’s a cheap deal). Mahomes has proven that he doesn’t need elite WR talent to lead a productive passing offense, so cheap 500 yard guys are perfectly acceptable,” another user wrote.
“Richie James is a guy Mahomes can do some business with. I love this signing. I liked him in NY. The Chiefs taking Daniel Jones weapons lol,” another user wrote.
“It’s fine. The Chiefs at least have a returner where you don’t have to hold your breath,” Jared Sapp of Arrowhead Pride wrote. “The timing is odd because the draft seems to have a ton of Richie James-style options. Locking him up on April 7 makes me kind of scared the draft is even worse than it looks at WR.”
What to Know About Richie James
Richie James, 27, entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2018.
During his three seasons in San Francisco, he was rather quiet in terms of offensive production. In his first two seasons, he caught just 15 passes. However, he was much more involved in the return game, as he had 45 returns for a total of 339 yards as a punter returner and 43 returns for 1,008 total yards and 1 touchdown as a kick returner during the same timeframe according to Pro Football Reference.
In Year 3 James saw an uptick in offensive production, as he registered a 23-394-1 stat line during his final season with the 49ers.
In 2022, James signed a one-year, $1.06 million deal with the New York Giants. Kadarius Toney starting the season hurt and then being traded to the Chiefs midseason opened up opportunities for James in New York’s offense, which is why he had a career year in his lone season with the Giants. In 17 regular season games played, he recorded 57 receptions on 70 targets for 569 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had 24 returns for 174 yards as a punt returner.
James also played well during the postseason, as he registered 11 catches on 16 targets for 82 yards in two games played.
What Will Richie James’ Role Be With Chiefs?
In terms of how Richie James fits into the Chiefs’ offense — during the 2022 regular season, James played 84% of his offensive snaps in the slot according to PFF. So, Kansas City will likely utilize him as a slot target for Patrick Mahomes, potentially putting James in line for another career year offensively.
James could also become the primary punt returner for the Chiefs, as Kadarius Toney will be relied upon much more offensively starting next season and might have to surrender his returner duties as a result.
James joins a receiver room in Kansas City that includes Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, Justyn Ross, John Ross, Cornell Powell, Jerrion Ealy, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and Ty Fryfogle.