It's hard to find anyone with a positive opinion on the Kansas City Chiefs' approach to the NFL's trade deadline. Technically, no deal is better than a bad one, but it's hard to look at the team's roster problems and smile at the lack of help provided at midseason. That's what has Chiefs Kingdom so upset the morning after the deadline passed.
Fans aren't alone in their sentiments concerning K.C.'s lack of activity. General manager Brett Veach stuck to his guns—or, in this case, draft assets—and such certitude has landed him on a list of trade deadline losers, according to The Athletic's Mike Jones. Jones writes:
"Although the offense has received a boost in the form of the healthy return of Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice’s return from suspension, the Chiefs still could have used a sparkplug running back, and some more help for Chris Jones along the defensive front. They failed to secure either."
Jones is spot-on when addressing the Chiefs' areas of concern. The team's corps of running backs have been uninspired for years, yet Super Bowl wins will make most fans look the other way when your best option is Jerick McKinnon or Darrel Williams. That's not the case in 2025.
The Chiefs' inactivity at the NFL's trade deadline is not being viewed as a good thing.
With the Chiefs facing a two-game deficit in the AFC West behind the Denver Broncos (and L.A. Chargers), the backfield anchored by an injury-prone Isiah Pacheco and an aging Kareem Hunt is not going to alter the game plans of any opposing defensive coordinator. That places a lot of pressure on a seventh-round rookie in Brashard Smith to provide some relief.
The Chiefs eyed RB Breece Hall of the New York Jets at the deadline, and he would have been an immediate catalyst for the offense, but the two sides disagreed over the compensation involved. Reports say the Chiefs offered a fourth-round pick while the Jets wanted one round higher. The game of chicken cost both teams.
Jones also mentions the Chiefs' defensive line, and Veach will likely regret the lack of a trade there as well. With Omarr Norman-Lott out for the season, the Chiefs are now even more dependent upon Chris Jones than ever before, at a time where his age and usage rate shows a decline in overall impact. That's a recipe for failure going forward, and the signing of Mike Pennel isn't nearly enough.
Typically, a list of winners and losers focuses on the positive or negative moves made by NFL teams, but in this case, Kansas City's inactivity did them in. Or at least that's how things are being judged at midseason.