The Kansas City Chiefs are a prominent team in trade discussions around the NFL involving wide receivers, but that is not the only place they could use an upgrade ahead of the November 10 deadline.
An offensive tackle should probably be on Kansas City’s wish list as well. But even more than that, the Chiefs need to pursue a true pass-rusher to help a unit that has struggled mightily to get to opposing quarterbacks after exploding out of the gate with four sacks against QB Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos in Week 1. The defense has just five sacks total in six games since then.
Chiefs had a 48.5% pressure rate on Nix in Week 1
“ESPN Research: Chiefs pressured Bo Nix on 2 of 34 dropbacks (6%), the lowest for any team since 2024 Week 5, and the lowest for the Chiefs since 2012 Week 8,” Ben Solak of ESPN posted to X on Sunday, November 1 in reference to Kansas City’s loss at Denver in Week 8. “Chiefs had a 48.5% pressure rate on Nix in Week 1.”
Sacks, of course, aren’t everything. Getting any sort of pressure on opposing QBs that forces them to scramble, to play out of structure, to rush a throw, to start hearing footsteps, to take a big hit — all of that matters significantly, but the Chiefs aren’t producing too much of any of it.
Given that, and the fact that the Los Angeles Chargers are the league’s last winless team at 0-7, a deal for outside linebacker Khalil Mack makes an incredible amount of sense. But there are other teams seriously interested, including the Chicago Bears based on a report from ESPN’s Ian Rapoport on Tuesday.
Chargers Don’t Want to Trade Any Assets, Let Alone to Chiefs
The Chargers are holding firm to their position that they don’t want to trade any assets ahead of the deadline, which is asinine given that their season pretty much officially ended with a 15-point loss to the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday.
Perhaps the biggest impediment to Mack landing in Kansas City, outside of the obstinance of the Chargers’ front office in the face of an obviously lost season, is that the Chiefs are an AFC West Division rival.
However, that matters considerably less now because the Chargers aren’t in contention for anything anymore and have already played the Chiefs once with their second meeting coming in Week 17, when L.A. will probably have shelved several key player who will remain part of the team’s future plans.
For instance, there’s no reason to let opposing defenses smack around QB Justin Herbert two weeks before the end of a lost year and risk an injury that could impact 2027.
Chiefs Might Have to Pay Premium to Trade for Khalil Mack
The Chargers still won’t want to help Kansas City return to the playoffs, and potentially the Super Bowl for the sixth time in Patrick Mahomes’ career with a shot at a fourth ring.
But if the price is right, Los Angeles must still consider its own needs over how any move might incrementally help an opponent. In the end, every one of the league’s 31 franchises is a competitor with the same end goal, and therefore a rival.
Mack is 35 and on a one-year, $18 million deal. He could decide to retire after this season, or pursue the best opportunity/most lucrative contract available to him in free agency next spring.
The point is that the Chargers dealing Mack to Kansas City wouldn’t mean the former Defensive Player of the Year will remain with the Chiefs in 2027 and come back to haunt L.A. And Mack might leave the Chargers and potentially join the Chiefs come this offseason anyway.
Mack is also no longer the overwhelmingly dominant force he once was. However, he has still tallied five tackles for loss and three sacks through seven games this season and can legitimately help a contender like Kansas City. As such, his trade price is probably in the range of a fifth-round pick.
The Chargers would have the intra-divisional leverage to tax the Chiefs a bit more than other teams given their long rivalry, so perhaps L.A. would push for a fourth-rounder, and perhaps the franchise could get Kansas City to agree.
Under those circumstances, a deal for Mack could work out for both sides, and a fourth-rounder might also put the Chiefs ahead of the Bears should a bidding war break out.
Chiefs Blockbuster Trade Pitch Steals Rival $18 Million Pass-Rusher From Bears