After injuries to Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice, the Kansas City Chiefs have often been talked about as a strong candidate for a wide receiver trade — but how about adding a playmaker at a different position?
Following their fifth-straight loss on Thursday Night Football on October 17, and with a mountain of key injuries to attend to, NFL analysts are beginning to suggest that the New Orleans Saints sell off any and all potential veteran assets. Starting with superstar running back Alvin Kamara, who just so happens to be one of the best pass-catching RBs in the game.
“Thursday always had a chance to be ugly for New Orleans, with a severely battered lineup pitted against old friend Sean Payton’s defensively sound Denver Broncos — and it was,” CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin noted after the game on October 17.
Continuing later: “And Kamara, once a standard-setter for dual-threat playmakers, and a surprisingly central piece of the club’s now-forgotten surge to start the 2024 season, has no role in the midst of the chaos.”
“The five-time Pro Bowler only hit a half-dozen carries in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s blowout,” Benjamin explained. “Cameras caught him visibly frustrated with the Saints’ sideline earlier in the game. And he’s now averaged fewer than 3.5 yards per carry in four of his last five matchups, gasping for air behind a beleaguered front.”
He went on to urge New Orleans to “buck their own stubborn trend, confront reality and embrace rather than resist a longer-term rebuild.” Adding that they should “sell that home run talent” that is Kamara.
As for where the Chiefs come in, Benjamin listed them as one of three potential landing spots.
Could Chiefs Team Alvin Kamara With Kareem Hunt to Upgrade 2024 Backfield?
“Everyone’s talking about a potential wide receiver trade for the reigning Super Bowl champions, but what about a blockbuster reinforcement for the running backfield, with Isiah Pacheco hurt?” Benjamin wrote. “Kareem Hunt has fared well in relief, but can he stay healthy down the stretch?”
As a pass-catching complement to Hunt, Kamara would certainly raise the bar exponentially compared to a player like Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Samaje Perine or rookie Carson Steele, but there are a couple of obvious factors that could stand in the way.
The first would be cost.
“The [trade] return wouldn’t necessarily be rich for a 29-year-old running back with an injury history and lofty 2025 price tag; Kamara is due a whopping $29 million in the final year of a contract extension he signed back in 2020,” Benjamin acknowledged within the article.
However, there was an important note that the CBS Sports analyst added.
“The acquiring team could easily view it as a half-season rental,” he said, “considering Kamara can be released in the offseason to save anywhere from $18 million to $25 million in 2025.”
The Chiefs would surely go that route with Pacheco eventually returning — and could even give a higher draft pick if the Saints were willing to take on a portion of the financial burden in 2024 — but would Kamara be able to pick up head coach Andy Reid’s offense with nearly half the season already behind us?
As we know, Reid prefers players with familiarity when making trades. That’s not to say Kamara couldn’t fit with KC, but it’d be an expensive risk with Hunt and the other RBs performing at an adequate level.
No Trade Reinforcements Coming for Week 7 — Although WR JuJu Smith-Schuster Is Trending Toward Playing
With no immediate trade reinforcements on the horizon on Friday of Week 7, the Chiefs will lean on their depth against the San Francisco 49ers. And an integral portion of that depth nearly took a hit on Thursday, as wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster suffered a hamstring injury at practice.
On October 18, Reid offered a positive update on Smith-Schuster.
“Yeah, I think he’ll be fine,” the Chiefs HC cautioned at his Friday press conference. “We’re going to list him as questionable just in case something comes up, but [Smith-Schuster] did good today, so we’ll see how he does tomorrow.”
Reid also hinted that Kansas City is unlikely to elevate a wide receiver from the practice squad if Smith-Schuster is available on Sunday.
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Chiefs Pegged as Landing Spot for ‘Home Run Talent’ From ‘Battered’ Franchise