Big Swings: Some aggressive moves the Chiefs could (should?) attempt this offseason
The AFC West is loading up. How could the Chiefs go big themselves?
The anticipation is building, the speculation is growing, and the rest of the AFC West (well, not Las Vegas, but… you know) is doing their best to throw haymakers. That’s right, free agency is almost upon us, and we’re neck deep in “holy crap” trade season.
At least, that’s how it’s felt this last week. With the Broncos acquiring Russell Wilson to finally fill the quarterback void that’s existed since Peyton Manning (and, if you believe the hype, fill out what is a contending roster) and the Chargers trading for edge rusher Khalil Mack, you can practically hear the other AFC West general managers screaming “No more!” while they sit in their office staring at pictures of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.
Of course, moves in March do not equate success in September (and more importantly, December, January, and February). However, it’s obvious that the AFC West is doing everything it can to stop getting manhandled by a Chiefs team that has dominated it on a level that is approaching historic.
We’ve been looking at what I would do if I were Brett Veach this offseason, including what I’d do in free agency and roster construction as a whole (there are links to the previous 3 articles in the series there as well, so I hope you have some time this morning). However, while being relatively restrained is all well and good, there’s also something to be said for going big. After all, the Chiefs are a Super Bowl contender, so why not get a little bit crazy?
That’s what we’re here to do today; Look at a few big swings the Chiefs could make in free agency or via trade that are perhaps farfetched but not beyond the realm of possibility (if we were suspending reality I’d say “trade for Aaron Donald”). They should all be looked at as “one-offs,” or individual moves they could make, but not simultaneously (at least, I don’t think they could do them all simultaneously).
As a primer, keep in mind that while the Chiefs have work to do in the salary cap, it’s a very malleable situation and they could make multiple moves to free up a good amount of cash. It’s also important to remember that the cap, while very real, has a number of moving parts that make it pretty flexible.
This is as true as ever with the cap projected to make another big jump in 2023 and 2024, and it’s worth keeping in mind as the Chiefs decide what to do in their current championship window.
All right, let’s take some big swings, shall we?