The Kansas City Chiefs are in uncharted territory heading into the 2026 offseason. Kansas City will need to make some aggressive moves to upgrade the roster after going 6-11 in 2025. The Chiefs started the offseason with a bang, trading cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams on Wednesday. Apparently it was not a popular move in the locker room.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo noted that Kansas City's defensive players are not happy about the McDuffie trade.
“Folks on the defensive side of the ball not happy as well,” Garafolo said on Thursday via Good Morning Football. “This is a tough one for a lot of folks there because of what Trent McDuffie meant to that defense and how many people think he's one of the top cornerbacks in the league. Certainly the Rams, getting ready to pay him like one.”
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes took to social media after the news was announced, posting a one-word response that said a lot. It appears his defensive teammates feel the same way.
Kansas City has already made a handful of moves designed to create cap space this offseason. They restructured Mahomes' contract and parted ways with a few veteran players, including right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
The McDuffie trade was no different.
McDuffie will the play the 2026 season on a $13.63 million fifth-year option. After that, he'll seek a long-term contract that will make him one of the NFL's highest-paid cornerbacks.
The Chiefs were clearly not willing to give McDuffie the contract he wants. Instead, they swapped him for multiple draft picks, including the 29th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Kansas City now has $24.89 million in cap space ahead of NFL free agency. That, paired with their new draft picks, has the Chiefs poised to get a lot better over the next few months.
It will be fascinating to see which players the Chiefs bring in this offseason.
