With the 2024 NFL trade deadline less than a week away, the Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the league's busiest teams already. Not only has general manager Brett Veach swapped with the Tennessee Titans for wideout DeAndre Hopkins, but the addition of pass rusher Joshua Uche from the New England Patriots will also help. With that said, is there room for one last move before the deadline arrives?
With injuries sapping the reigning Super Bowl winners of 100% health, there's precedent for it. Assets might be another story, as Veach has already given up Day 3 picks in the next two drafts this fall. From a salary cap standpoint, estimates for the Chiefs range from as low as just under $256,000 to just over $4 million. If things line up perfectly, that could leave the door open for a final addition as Kansas City chases a three-peat.
Bleacher Report seems to be on board with that proposition. Prior to Week 9's play, the outlet dove into each team's most glaring needs right now and landed on a potential cornerback trade for the Chiefs. With Jaylen Watson on the injured reserve, Nazeeh Johnson suffering a concussion in Week 8 and Joshua Williams struggling when on the field, a No. 2 cornerback to work with Trent McDuffie could help a ton.
Alex Ballentine has someone specific in mind. He thinks Veach should call the New Orleans Saints and inquire about four-time Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore.
"The Chiefs already swung a big move to make the trade when they acquired DeAndre Hopkins ahead of the deadline, however, they have enough salary cap flexibility to make another move," Ballentine wrote. "Going after a historic third Super Bowl could be motivation enough to really sell out and make an aggressive move. Trading the Saints for Marshon Lattimore would certainly qualify. The talented corner could be inserted into the lineup to replace Jaylen Watson, who was just placed on injured reserve. The Saints have strong depth at cornerback and a messy cap situation so trading Lattimore wouldn't be surprising."
Lattimore, 28, is a former first-round pick whose pedigree speaks for itself. While he hasn't reached the aforementioned Pro Bowl in the last two seasons, he remains an effective cover corner and is pacing to play in his most games in a year since 2021. Year No. 8 has been a good one for him, as he currently boasts a career-low 5.7 yards per target surrendered in coverage and a sparkling 71.7 passer rating given up. Additionally, Lattimore has a pair of pass breakups and isn't charged with a single missed tackle entering Week 9.
Advanced metrics also depict a player who's still got it. According to Pro Football Focus, Lattimore is the No. 45 overall cornerback out of 201 players in their database. On top of that, his coverage grade is good for 37th. Even on a New Orleans team that seems to be heading in the wrong direction, Lattimore is doing his part on the back end of the secondary. He also carried just $1.2M in base salary for the year after the Saints converted some of his money to an option bonus. That's the only reason why Kansas City is even being mentioned as a potential destination.
Moving forward, the Chiefs would pay a pretty penny for Lattimore's services. Due $16M in base salary and carrying an even heftier cap hit in each of the next two years, that seems unlike Veach as he just declined to pay L'Jarius Sneed earlier this calendar year. Lattimore can absolutely help a defense but without him being a true one-year rental, this writer isn't sure it makes a great deal of sense.
Don't get it twisted: Kansas City could make it work if they absolutely wanted to, and they could also benefit from a cornerback addition. Despite Lattimore's 2024 affordability and production, though, he might not be the player take on.
