The 2025 NFL trade deadline is officially a thing of the past, and the Kansas City Chiefs are dancing with who they brought to the dance. Instead of looking externally to improve the roster, general manager Brett Veach is banking on internal improvement.
It wasn’t for a lack of effort. Kansas City reportedly inquired about New York Jets running back Breece Hall, and who knows what other conversations occurred behind the scenes. Post-deadline, however, the net result is no new contributors for the reigning AFC champions.
Was that lack of movement a mistake? One writer believes it could come back to bite the Chiefs in the long run.
Writer Criticizes Chiefs for Not Making a Move at Trade Deadline
In a November 5 story for The Athletic, Mike Jones broke down his trade deadline winners and losers. Kansas City finds itself in the “losers” category, largely due to no perceived improvement.
The running back and defensive line rooms, specifically, would’ve benefitted from an addition or two.
“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,” Jones wrote. “They failed to secure either.”
There’s no denying that the halfback spot leaves some to be desired. Starter Isiah Pacheco leads the team in yards with 329, but he’s averaging 4.2 yards per carry and is now hurt. His MCL injury renders him week-to-week and held him out of Week 9’s 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Veteran Kareem Hunt is a tried and true short-yardage maestro, but asking him to do anything more than that is risky.
Rookie Brashard Smith has yet to break out. Offseason signing Elijah Mitchell has yet to even see the field for a game. Elevating Clyde Edwards-Helaire from the practice squad for Week 9 parlayed itself into 2 carries for 5 yards. Moving for Hall, or even someone a tier or two below him, may have taken pressure off quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
A good point is also made about Chris Jones not having much help up front. The All-Pro has George Karlaftis on the outside, but that’s about it. Jones is tasked with leading the pass rush and commanding double-teams, which becomes increasingly difficult now that he’s over the age of 30. Jones has been under fire for his underwhelming play this season; Veach could’ve helped that by bringing in someone.
Assessing Kansas City’s Post-Bye Week Slate of Games
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, things won’t get a ton easier down the stretch. According to Tankathon, they have the 15th-ranked strength of schedule the rest of the way. That doesn’t present a murder’s row of opponents to face, but it also doesn’t reflect a huge chance to go on a run. Mahomes knows that at 5-4, there isn’t much wiggle room for error anymore.
Following their Week 10 bye, Kansas City hits the road to face the 7-2 Denver Broncos. Given that Denver plays the lowly Las Vegas Raiders while the Chiefs are off, they might be able to pad their AFC West lead even more. After that, head coach Andy Reid’s crew returns home but gets rewarded by squaring off against the AFC-leading Indianapolis Colts.
Will Thanksgiving day’s matchup in Jerry World versus the Dallas Cowboys serve as a break? Perhaps, albeit even that isn’t a foregone conclusion. Weeks 14 and 15 are against feisty in-conference clubs, the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers. Entering Week 10, the latter has not only a lead on the Chiefs in the division but also a head-to-head tiebreaker from Week 1.
Unless Kansas City comes out of the bye on absolute fire, it seems that hosting the Broncos on Christmas in Week 17 could have AFC West implications. A back-half schedule full of emotional games, holiday play and high drama doesn’t make the path to the postseason simple.
A trade or two may have left the Chiefs better prepared for that battle.
