news

Did Chiefs or Titans win a deal for WR?

Vaseline October 23, 2024

Even at 6-0, the Kansas City Chiefs decided to follow some of their AFC league lead and become the latest team to make a splashy deal for a wide receiver before the NFL trade deadline.

On Wednesday, the Chiefs agreed to acquire five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans. The move comes just a week after the New York Jets secured Davante Adams and the Buffalo Bills landed Amari Cooper to boost their passing attacks.

Hopkins has recorded just 15 catches for 173 yards and one touchdown, but he’s been limited by a knee injury suffered in the preseason and the struggling Titans air raid. In Kansas City, he is expected to help elevate an offense that recorded just 145 passing yards in Sunday’s win over the San Francisco 49ers amid mounting injuries to the receiving corps.

Here are the winners and losers from the trade, as well as our grades for both teams.

Winners

Patrick Mahomes

Undeterred in the face of mounting injuries to his receiving corps, the two-time MVP last week expressed confidence in the reduced crew still at his disposal. Still, this move represents perhaps the most meaningful influx of talent within reach for Kansas City — at least after Cooper was dealt. Getting by with rookie speedster Xavier Worthy and veteran Justin Watson wasn’t a viable option, especially when JuJu Smith-Schuster went down with a hamstring injury that already ruled him out for Week 8. It may take some time for Mahomes to build a bond with Hopkins . , but by equipping the quarterback with a physical target who thrives in the short area, he gets many of the easy throws that were stopped when Rice was lost. And for a passer who now leads the NFL with eight interceptions, he shouldn’t have to press that often.

Travis Kelce

The blanket coverage that has followed him all season isn’t going anywhere. But in light of his 17-yard performance against the 49ers, his second-lowest return of the season, it was clear a change in the supporting cast was needed. Mahomes will still be looking to his nine-time Pro Bowl tight end. But Kelce’s quality of appearance should improve at least slightly.

DeAndre Hopkins

Call this a reward for his patience. Hopkins didn’t make much noise on his way out, and now the 32-year-old will undoubtedly be a primary option for the NFL’s only undefeated team and most dynamic quarterback. That is a victory that is only within the context of this season. But with his contract set to expire this spring, Hopkins is also ready to showcase his skills in a much more favorable environment than the one that weighs him down in Tennessee.

Losers

Will Levis and Mason Rudolph

Simply put, this deal won’t happen if Levis had given the Titans any reason to believe he’s a valuable long-term investment at quarterback, or even a sustainable one. But with the volatile passer unable to dial back his devil-may-care style, a Tennessee team that planned to be competitive this season pivoted, taking away one of its best receiving options to instead, increase draft capital. Hard to see how this team is just an indication that this team is already embracing a change behind center for 2025. With Levis still dealing with a shoulder injury that sidelined him in Week 7, the move also hurts Rudolph, who didn’t contribute much. a spark as a fill-in starter against the Buffalo Bills.

Wide receivers on the trading block

When you’re caught up in a bad offense against a sinking team, who wouldn’t dream of being sent to Mahomes and the two-time champions? While this doesn’t necessarily stop Kansas City from making another move, it’s enough buzz to indicate the team is on the verge of receiving the receiver. Too bad for Cooper Kupp, Diontae Johnson, Darius Slayton, Christian Kirk and any other pass catchers.

JuJu Smith-Schuster

He had an impressive revitalization after Rice went down, recording seven catches for 130 yards against the New Orleans Saints. But did the hamstring injury he suffered at least partially open the door for this deal? While his connection to Mahomes will allow him to stay in the picture, it seems clear that Hopkins’ arrival will significantly alter the role Smith-Schuster was trying to fill.

AFC candidates

Everyone else in the field has already suffered at least two losses. Ahead of games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs have now strengthened their weakest spot. The climb to unseat Kansas City – and avoid another AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium – is only going to get more impressive.

DeAndre Hopkins trading skills

Chiefs: A-

This seemed like a deal that made too much sense to actually happen. And for a while, it seemed like that wouldn’t be the case, with rumors that the Titans were reluctant to move on from their No. 2 target and that Hopkins didn’t express any dissatisfaction with his status. Still, general manager Brett Veach found a way to get a deal done for a pass catcher before the trade deadline for the third straight year.

However, we can bet that Hopkins’ impact could be greater than that of Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman. However the Chiefs tried to move forward, it was clear that an additional weapon was needed after Rashee Rice’s season-ending knee injury, which compounded the problems for a receiving corps already without Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (shoulder) until his least the play-offs. Hopkins doesn’t need to rediscover his electric early career form for this to work. If he can simply continue to overpower defensive backs at the catch point and feast on a multitude of targets on underneath and intermediate routes, he can help the Chiefs’ revised offensive mission of being highly functional instead of explosive.

Titans: B

General manager Ran Carthon deserves some credit for seeing the bigger picture and not just moving forward with Hopkins. While it would make sense that a receiver who makes his mark on contested catches would be a nice addition to Calvin Ridley, who wins on separation, and would be a big asset for an inconsistent second-year signal caller in Levis, that’s clearly not the case. picked for the 1-5 Titans. With Tennessee already down a third-round pick in 2025 thanks to the L’Jarius Sneed trade – which has yielded ugly results thus far – it was time to gather more draft assets for a team ready for a new reboot in his offensive staff this offseason.

The USA TODAY app takes you quickly to the heart of the news. Download for award-winning reporting, crosswords, audio stories, the eNewspaper and more.

first Drop

first Drop

Did Chiefs or Titans win a deal for WR?