Insider Lists Pair of Veteran WRs as Potential Chiefs Trade Options

With Rashee Rice suffering a scary knee injury in Week 4 and Marquise "Hollywood" Brown already on the shelf for the regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs are in a precarious position. Addressing the wide receiver spot would make a ton of sense, although several factors make that easier said than done.

First and foremost, it takes two to tango. Trades don't manifest as easily as some think. Additionally, elements like finances and draft capital must be taken into account. If everything lined up, though, could Kansas City strike for the right player? It's hard to see general manager Brett Veach not at least entertain it.

With that in mind, who could fit the bill for the Chiefs? In their Week 5 notebook for ESPN, Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler attempted to answer that question. Fowler points to two players, Cleveland Browns star Amari Cooper and New York Giants standout Darius Slayton, as the go-to options.

"Kansas City is indeed the easy answer, and one that I'll take because of receiver need," Fowler wrote. "But the next few weeks will be crucial. How do the Chiefs move the ball without Rice and Hollywood Brown? How fast can Xavier Worthy develop? The Chiefs are never keen on absorbing big contracts, so ideally they would look for a reasonably priced veteran. If Cleveland continues to slide, Amari Cooper could be an attractive option because his contract restructure has him playing on a minimum base salary. The Giants' Darius Slayton ($2.5 million base salary) also comes to mind."

What would Amari Cooper or Darius Slayton bring to the Chiefs' wideout room?

Cooper, 30, is definitely the better player in this pairing. The five-time Pro Bowler made a profound impact in his first two seasons with Cleveland, scoring nine touchdowns in 2022 and then hauling in 72 passes for a career-high 1,250 yards last year. He's off to a mixed bag of a start to the 2024-25 campaign – 16 receptions on 37 targets for 148 yards – but he also has to deal with one of football's worst quarterback situations. Talent-wise, Cooper can be a WR1 or something resembling it while having good success. Price is also a massive selling point for Cooper. With just $1.2 million of his 2024 salary being guaranteed, it'd be extremely easy for any team to fit him under the cap right now.

Slayton is a former fifth-round pick who got selected in the same draft class as Mecole Hardman. In four of his first five seasons, he had at least 46 receptions and crossed the 700-yard receiving mark. He's also improved as a post-reception threat, as the 2023 season saw him post a career-high average of six yards after each catch. He's capable of doing a lot of damage in the short area of the field, and he also comes at a cheap cost. His market likely won't be nearly as hot as Cooper's, either, if New York fields calls.

With less than $5M in available cap space as of the publishing of this article, the Chiefs have their hands tied in some regards. They couldn't have anticipated both Brown and Rice going down, and that's a tough pill to swallow for any team. Given their ongoing quest for a three-peat, however, a drastic trade measure just might level things off. Fowler's picks are both solid ones, with the former being more likely to alter the trajectory of a season.