The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a rough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59. Patrick Mahomes had a brutal game, and the Chiefs’ offense looked dysfunctional. The offensive structure for Kansas City will need to undergo major changes, and one of those changes includes trading for a new playmaker on offense.
The Kansas City Chiefs Will Trade For Christian McCaffrey
In typical Chiefs fashion, to rebound from a dramatic loss as they did, they will go on to make a blockbuster move. That move will be for McCaffrey, as the San Francisco 49ers have their own issues for the 2025 offseason.
Why The 49ers Will Trade McCaffrey
When the San Francisco 49ers traded for Christian McCaffrey, they thought they were getting multiple years left of production, especially when they signed him to a two-year, $38 million extension. While McCaffrey has performed, that has not entirely turned out to be the full case for San Francisco.
McCaffrey is coming off an injury riddled season where he played in just four games and had 202 yards with zero rushing touchdowns. The year before was better as he had 1,727 yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, 716 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. McCaffrey is talented, but his time in San Francisco may be running out. McCaffrey dealt with the Achilles tendinitis early in the season, and then a PCL injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the year. With him being 29 by the time next season starts, he is entering the final years of his career with already having 1,452 attempts over his career so far.
When McCaffrey missed time, the 49ers saw that they have other options like Isaac Guerendo and Jordan Mason to take the starting running back spot if they don’t address the position for the future in free agency. With trading McCaffrey, it would further free up cap space because while they have $48,295,849 currently, they also have a Brock Purdy contract on the horizon if they decide to extend him. Creating cap space overall to get younger would be wise for San Francisco.
Why The Chiefs Need to Trade for McCaffrey
As it stands, Isiah Pacheco is the lead running back. He is also coming off an injury-filled season where he played in just 10 games but only saw 96 attempts, which he turned into 347 yards and one touchdown. Pacheco isn’t necessarily the top receiving back in the NFL, either, and that’s where McCaffrey comes in to help diversify the offense. With the receiving ability of McCaffrey, he would help be a reliable option for Mahomes in the short area of the field as he looks to get the offense back on track from the performance in the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs can also look at what the Eagles just did offensively. It started with getting Saquon Barkley in the offseason, and ended with Philadelphia winning the time of possession battle with 36 minutes compared to the Chiefs’ 23 minutes. For Pacheco to have just seven yards in the Super Bowl, and Mahomes to be the leading rusher with 25 yards, it is clear for Kansas City to advance their offense, they need a better ground game.
With a backfield of both Pacheco and McCaffrey, it would help keep both fresh as the season progresses. This would create a sustainable duo for the foreseeable future, help extend the career longevity for both, and help with trying to keep the Chiefs’ championship window open.
