The NFL’s trade deadline for the 2021 season is less than a month away, set for Nov. 2 and a new report from ESPN says the Kansas City Chiefs are a team to watch.
At 2-3, the Chiefs’ season is off to about as rough of a start as anyone could have predicted and the schedule is only going to get more difficult. With problems on both sides of the ball to rectify, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the team is exploring their options.
One player they’ve looked into per Fowler is Indianapolis Colts RB Marlon Mack, who recently requested a trade. Mack didn’t play on “Monday Night Football” in Week 5 as the Colts seem intent on trading the fifth-year halfback.
“The feeling around Indianapolis is the Colts want to do right by running back Marlon Mack, who has requested a trade, but there is not much interest just yet. Things could pick up closer to the deadline, and a conditional late-round pick probably gets it done.
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Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs have looked into Mack, too. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is expected to miss extended time because of a knee injury suffered Sunday, so perhaps they add Mack to pair with Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon.”
The latest on Clyde Edwards-Helaire is that his injury could only require him to miss 2-3 weeks and that the team might not even put him on injured reserve. It’s hard to imagine them going out and trading for a running back under those circumstances.
Mack is coming off a 2020 Achilles injury and is in a crowded backfield in Indy. He’s only carried the ball 20 times for 85 yards this season, but in 2019 he pounded the rock 247 times for 1,091 yards and 8 touchdowns. Other teams that have expressed interest in Mack include the Eagles, who’ve not had much production out of the running game this season.
Fowler also noted that the Chiefs have a ton of talent on the offensive line and could pursue a trade with a team like the Panthers who have a ton of talent on the defensive line. That would seem a more amicable trade given the current problems in Kansas City.
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