The Kansas City Chiefs appear to have a budding star in R Mason Thomas, which may necessitate a trade to open up the requisite opportunities for the rookie pass-rusher on the team’s new-look defense.
Defensive end and former first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah (2023) missed all of last season with a hamstring injury that required surgery to mend. Even before that, he was not producing at a level anywhere near commensurate with his draft position, tallying just eight tackles for loss and three sacks over his first two seasons.
The Chiefs chose this spring not to exercise the fifth-year option on Anudike-Uzomah’s deal for the 2027 campaign, which indicates the team is preparing to move on from the DE after the year is through, as does the drafting of Thomas as a likely replacement.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report authored a trade suggestion on Sunday, September 4 that would flip Anudike-Uzomah from Kansas City to the Cleveland Browns.
“The Browns shouldn’t be taking too big of a swing here. There’s still money invested in [Alex] Wright and they’ll have to hope he can come back from a devastating injury next season,” Ballentine wrote. “The other tactic would be targeting a former first-round pick on the final year of his deal. Felix Anudike-Uzomah hasn’t broken out in Kansas City and … a change of scenery could help.”
Browns Need Depth at Defensive End After Myles Garrett Trade, Alex Wright Injury
Cleveland is not necessarily in position to make any blockbuster trades ahead of the NFL’s mid-season deadline, though Anudike-Uzomah offers an upside fringe play that might make sense after significant losses along the defensive line.
Cleveland entered the offseason with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and Alex Wright as the top two defensive ends on the depth chart. Since then, however, the Browns have traded Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams and Wright is out for the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in August.
Jared Verse came back, along with three future draft picks, in the Garrett deal and will start on one side of the line. The team has listed Isaiah McGuire, a reserve with 37 appearances (12 starts) as the other starter, heading into his fourth professional season.
Anudike-Uzomah could challenge McGuire for a starting role, or at least a contributing one, and may be available for a Day 3 draft asset, which would allow the Chiefs to get something back in return for the former first-rounder before he walks next offseason for nothing.
Chiefs May Have Reason to Slow Play Potential Trade for Felix Anudike-Uzomah
Anudike-Uzomah remains just 24 years old, which potentially argues for the Chiefs keeping him.
If he can get healthy and show flashes of the player the team thought he was coming out of Kansas State, perhaps he makes sense as a reserve behind Thomas and George Karlaftis.
The potential of that outcome could persuade Kansas City to hold off on any deal until it gets more data about how Thomas’s skills translate to regular-season NFL action and how well Anudike-Uzomah has recovered from his injury.
If the Chiefs are competitive and Anudike-Uzomah is useful, they may decide to keep him for the stretch run. If not, Kansas City can still shop the defensive end ahead of the November 10 trade deadline.
Chiefs Trade Pitch Clears Path for R Mason Thomas by Flipping Former 1st-Rounder