The Kansas City Chiefs have something up their sleeve.
They traded All-Pro guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears in an effort to generate cap space early Wednesday morning, and most assumed the purpose was to have enough room to offer Trey Smith a large extension, though the rest of the day’s events suggest there may be an ulterior motive.
Seattle Seahawks star WR DK Metcalf, who the Chiefs are reportedly interested in, officially requested a trade per Jordan Schultz. It might purely be a coincidence that Kansas City freed up so much money mere hours before Metcalf’s request, or it might not be.
BREAKING: #Seahawks WR DK Metcalf has requested a trade, league sources tell @NFLonFOX. pic.twitter.com/LGG8WWaDnQ
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 5, 2025
Chiefs WR Trade Target DK Metcalf Officially Requests Trade From Seahawks
Before the Thuney trade, a theoretical Metcalf trade proposal was difficult to parse. He carries a roughly $32 million cap hit in 2024 and the Chiefs only had a projected $7 million in space, so it wouldn’t have been possible to get him without making sacrifices elsewhere.
Now, Kansas City has approximately $23 million to work with even before factoring in any potential contract restructures. Even if someone like Patrick Mahomes doesn’t rework his deal, the Chiefs have options.
They could trade for Metcalf and immediately offer a contract extension to lower Metcalf’s annual salary to somewhere in the $27-$28 million range. Backload the deal and it’d be easy to get Metcalf in under $23 million in 2025 with a decent signing bonus. That might not be the best use of resources, but it’s worth considering nonetheless.
Only 27 years old, Metcalf is an All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler with six consecutive seasons of at least 900 receiving yards. He’s played in at least 16 games every year except 2024 when he played 12 and represents the exact kind of big-bodied, physical downfield threat that the Chiefs’ offense has lacked.
If Kansas City can acquire Metcalf for one of their two third-round picks, the pass-catching could be deadly led by Metcalf, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Travis Kelce. The Chiefs have dealt with receiver issues for two straight seasons but based on this development, they just might be ready to fix the problem.
