Chiefs not seriously pursuing trades, Kansas City Star says

One never knows what might develop between now and the NFL’s trade deadline (October 30, 4 p.m. ET), but for the time being, the Kansas City Chiefs might be content with standing pat, according to an article from the Kansas City Star. 

The Chiefs will certainly see their name tossed around in trade rumors in the days ahead, especially when it comes to defensive players. But Star reporter Sam Mellinger wrote Tuesday that the Chiefs will likely stay quiet before the deadline, choosing to side with what they have and not shake up the long-term future in order to acquire a player. 

“This front office has been among the league’s most aggressive, both in trading up in the draft and working the edges of the roster through trades and signings,” Mellinger wrote. “But last week, a Chiefs source indicated the team was not seriously pursuing any trades, a stance that was reinforced this week. It’s unclear what could change that would push them to make a deal, but of course they’ll monitor new developments. For now, though, it feels like the Chiefs will stand down. There’s a lot to like about the team as currently constructed, and some of the spots that appeared to be fatal flaws a month ago are improved.”

Mellinger’s news suggests Chiefs fans can probably forget about the possibility of acquiring Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson, who has been a popular topic of discussion over the past two days after reportedly asking for a trade from the Arizona Cardinals (the Cardinals have repeatedly said they have no plans to trade Peterson). The Chiefs were widely reported earlier in the season to be close to acquiring safety Earl Thomas from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for one of their two second-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft before Thomas suffered a season-ending injury, but unlike Peterson, who is signed through 2020, Thomas is only under contract through 2018 and would not have had any effect on Kansas City’s salary situation in the long term. It’s that issue that Mellinger cites as a big reason the Chiefs will be careful about making trades — they’re not all in for this season and would like to maintain cap flexibility for the future, both to lock up some of their young stars who will soon be up for an extension while leaving open the ability to sign future outside free agents.

There’s also the fact that the Chiefs showed improvement on defense in Weeks 5 and 7 and could soon get more help as linebacker Justin Houston (hamstring) and safeties Daniel Sorensen (knee) and Eric Berry (heel) get healthy. Houston’s injury is not of the season-ending variety, while Sorensen is expected to be back at practice sometime in the near future. Berry’s timetable for return as well as what he’d be capable of offering when he got back on the field remain items of mystery, but the Chiefs are confident he’ll be back before the end of the season as well. Again, there’s no guarantee something won’t pop up over the next seven days that catches the Chiefs’ attention, but it probably shouldn’t be a surprise if not a lot goes on in the end.