Chiefs’ salary-cap space would allow KC to trade for a receiver. Here are options

Following the Chiefs’ 17-10 win over the Chargers on Sunday, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes gave a game ball to general manager Brett Veach.

Veach picked up his 200th career victory as a front office member of an NFL organization, and as usual, that didn’t escape the notice of Mahomes.

On Monday, Veach was on the minds of NFL pundits as they discussed potential options for the Chiefs in the wake of the injury to wide receiver Rashee Rice.

There has been no official word on the severity of Rice’s knee injury and a former NFL team doctor said that is potentially good news.

“When it comes to ACL injuries, no definitive news of tear is considered good news,” David Chao wrote on X.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid on Monday discussed the team’s plans at wide receiver for however long Rice will be sidelined.

The hot topic in the NFL is whether the Chiefs will try to trade for a wide receiver now that two starters are out (Marquise “Hollywood” Brown was injured in a preseason game).

First let’s look at the Chiefs’ salary cap space. According to the NFL Players’ Association site, the Chiefs are $4,907,474 under the cap. Over The Cap puts that number at $4,930,027.

That would allow the Chiefs to acquire five-time Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper, according to Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti. The Chiefs would take on $941,111 in salary if they traded for Cooper, who is 30 years old.

Cooper, who is in his third season with the Browns, was mentioned as a possible trade target for the Chiefs by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. That’s according to The Comeback’s Ben Axelrod.

Fox Sports’ Henry McKenna took a look at six potential trade targets for the Chiefs and wrote this about why Cooper would be a good fit in KC:

“Cooper would be a league-changing acquisition and one that — at basically every level — makes sense for the Chiefs. Cooper is set to make just $1.2 million in salary. He’s still one of the best route-runners in the NFL, and might still be one of the most productive wideouts — if he only had a quarterback.

“He should be able to jump into Kansas City’s offense and hit the ground running. If the Chiefs want to keep him around, they could extend him midseason. If they simply wanted a one-year rental, they can let him go in free agency. And they might just get a compensatory pick for him.”

The Chiefs have acquired receivers in midseason trades the last two seasons: Mecole Hardman a year ago and Kadarius Toney in 2022. Both helped the Chiefs win a Super Bowl title.

Here is what other NFL pundits were saying Monday about Veach and a possible trade for the Chiefs.

Belichick on Chiefs’ cap

Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick was on the SiriusXM show “Let’s Go!” He talked about the Chiefs’ salary-cap situation.

“Well, I think it’s an interesting situation,” Belichick said. “We’ll see what Kansas City can and maybe will do, but as I said, I don’t think that they’re hamstrung on the cap. They have some flexibility. They’ve budgeted things out pretty well. If they can find the right trade, need to make a trade in season, maybe they can do that, or sign a player.

“But we saw it last year with the Commanders where they made some trades on the defensive line as part of their rebuilding program. That could happen. I’m not saying it will, but that could happen where Kansas City has an opportunity to upgrade a position if they feel like they need that to make a championship type of run.”

Davante Adams

Former Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel mentioned Cooper and two other possible receiving targets for KC. Daniel is now a Fox Sports analyst. NFL writer Adam Levitan suggested Veach inquire on one of these six receivers.

Both mention Davante Adams, but he would seem to be cost prohibitive for the Chiefs and the Raiders likely would be loathe to make that trade.

Cooper Kupp

NFL analyst Peter Schrager was on “The Colin Cowherd Show” and talked about Veach’s options, too. He mentioned Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins and Rams’ Cooper Kupp.

“I said this and I got a lot of a pushback, it doesn’t come from the Rams guys, but I would call on Cooper Kupp,” Schrager said. “I would see.”

Kupp has a significant cap hit this season and next, per Spotrac.

Demarcus Robinson

McKenna mentioned another Rams receiver in his story: Demarcus Robinson. He played for the Chiefs from 2016-21, and was on the Super Bowl LIV championship team.

“Coach Andy Reid hasn’t had much success acclimating new pass-catchers to his offense midseason, so Robinson — a familiar face — would bring a track record of proven production,” McKenna wrote.

“Of course, the Chiefs wouldn’t get the same output level from Robinson as from Rice. But Robinson can play a possession role in the offense. He’s making just $2.5 million in salary this season. It’s the kind of move Reid would make if he wasn’t panicked about the state of the receiver room.”

The Chiefs could fit that contract under their cap, too.