NFL trade deadline passes, Chiefs stand pat

The NFL trade deadline has passed and as I expected, the Kansas City Chiefs stood pat with the team they have.

Here were the noteworthy moves of deadline day around the league:

WR Golden Tate traded from the Detroit Lions to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2019 third-round pick.

WR Demaryius Thomas and a 2019 seventh-round pick traded from the Denver Broncos to the Houston Texans for a 2019 fourth-round pick and a 2019 seventh-round pick.

RB/WR Ty Montgomery traded from the Green Bay Packers to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2020 seventh-round pick.

S HaHa Clinton-Dix traded from the Green Bay Packers to the Washington Redskins for a 2019 fourth-round pick.

DE Dante Fowler Jr. traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2019 third-round pick and 2020 fifth-round pick.

My post-deadline thoughts

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

In my opinion, evaluating the Chiefs’ decision to stand pat depends a lot upon how the rest of this season goes, which is impossible to know.

I do find it peculiar that the Chiefs were so interested in Seahawks safety Earl Thomas just a month ago, and then in the time since then, figured they had enough on their current roster to feel comfortable moving forward without a new addition once Thomas broke his leg and that was out of the question.

I would guess that what this newfound confidence comes down to is the Chiefs defense playing well against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals and passable against the Denver Broncos. I’ve said this before and it’s still true—the defense doesn’t have to be one of the top units in the league for the Chiefs to be successful given this offense; it just has to be good enough. The Chiefs could have also just felt the players available were not a perfect fit in their defense.

I think the defense’s recent progress, combined with an organizational insistence that safety Eric Berry will play and be effective this season had a lot to do with their comfort level.

That being said, the Los Angeles Rams, who are undefeated and currently have a top-10 defense, weren’t satisfied, and they went out and acquired defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. for a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick. It’s risky, with Fowler Jr. due to become an unrestricted free agent, but the Rams saw a need and made a point to address it.

At least according to Las Vegas odds all year long, the Rams could wind up being the Chiefs’ biggest obstacle to winning a Super Bowl. The Ravens and Texans, teams that could be AFC contenders, also got better.

The Chiefs did not.

I look at Patrick Mahomes and the opportunity the Chiefs have this year when it comes to their championship-caliber offense, and I do find the lack of a move troubling. As I noted on Twitter, title windows are small. Some of the greatest quarterbacks in the game, like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, for example, have won one title in 10-plus years.

Nothing is guaranteed from year to year. Anything can happen—regression through age, offseason incidents, coaching changes, etc.

I’m not saying that you go and make a bad deal on a whim, but if you’re betting your championship on Berry coming back healthy and serviceable, you’d better be correct.