The Kansas City Chiefs could reshuffle the deck on both sides of the roster with more uncertainty heading into 2026 than ever before in the Patrick Mahomes/Andy Reid era.
Mahomes is out after ACL/LCL surgery and could miss multiple weeks to start next season. Tight end Travis Kelce is not under contract beyond the next three games and could retire after a 13-year Hall-of-Fame career, in which he has accomplished everything any player could ever hope to achieve.
Kansas City is currently almost $45 million in the red with regards to the 2026 salary cap, which is going to mean tough choices and likely cuts across the roster.
And even if the team doesn’t need to replace Kelce or find a viable bridge starter until Mahomes is healthy, the Chiefs need to add talent along the defensive line and in the offensive backfield — two places they were inexcusably weak when it mattered most in close games this year.
And that brings us to part of a joint column from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano on Wednesday, December 17. Among Fowler’s most interesting potential trade candidates heading into the offseason is cornerback Trent McDuffie, a two-time All-Pro who will enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2026.
“Another name on my radar is Chiefs corner Trent McDuffie,” Fowler wrote. “The last Kansas City corner eyeing a big extension, L’Jarius Sneed, was shipped to Tennessee for a draft pick. McDuffie would have value, and [the] Tampa Bay [Buccaneers] would be a perfect spot for him.”
Chiefs May Not Be Able to Replace Trent McDuffie if They Trade Him
GettyKansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Graziano agreed in theory that McDuffie could be on the move, citing historical precedent, but questioned the likelihood of such a trade due to the lack of a clear-cut successor to the CB1 job on the depth chart.
“The Chiefs always seem to let cornerbacks go when it’s time to pay big money, but a big reason they’ve been able to get away with that is that they always have a replacement ready to go — as McDuffie was when they traded Sneed, and like Sneed was when they moved on from Charvarius Ward. I’m not sure they have that heir apparent on the roster, unless they think it’s Joshua Williams or Jaylen Watson.”
The timing of a McDuffie trade this offseason might also be curious, when Williams and Watson are both free agents. If the Chiefs believe one of them can step into McDuffie’s role and fill it adequately, that is going to mean a significant second contract.
Jaylen Watson Likely Successor if Chiefs Move on From Trent McDuffie
GettyCornerback Jaylen Watson of the Kansas City Chiefs.
McDuffie, a former first-round pick, will play on the fifth-year team option of his deal in 2026, which is worth $13.6 million. Williams doesn’t project to make that kind of annual salary moving forward, but he hasn’t been nearly as good as McDuffie, either.
Spotrac projects Watson, a former seventh-round selection, to ink a three-year contract with an annual average salary of $12.6 million. But the Chiefs are willing to pay him that amount, why not just keep McDuffie through the end of his contract?
Watson actually graded out slightly better than McDuffie through 15 weeks, per Pro Football Focus. Watson is the No. 7 cornerback in the league, while PFF rates McDuffie No. 10.
However, McDuffie also typically takes the tougher assignment and has been the superior player over each man’s four years in Kansas City, which is reflected in Spotrac’s projection that McDuffie’s market value is $28.9 million annually over a new four-year deal.
Chiefs May Trade 2-Time All-Pro to Bucs to Avoid Pricey Extension: Report