The Kansas City Chiefs could see major changes during the offseason and one player the team will have to make a decision on is cornerback Trent McDuffie.
A former first-round pick, McDuffie will be entering the final year of his contract in 2026 and the Chiefs have to decide whether or not they're going to extend him, let him play out the final year of his deal or trade him.
As important as McDuffie is to the defense, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler thinks he could be traded during the offseason, much like the team did with L'Jarius Sneed in 2024.
"Another name on my radar is Chiefs corner Trent McDuffie. The last Kansas City corner eyeing a big extension, L'Jarius Sneed, was shipped to Tennessee for a draft pick. McDuffie would have value, and Tampa Bay would be a perfect spot for him," Fowler said.
But ESPN's Dan Graziano wonders if the Chiefs would be willing to do that this time around with no clear heir-apparent on the roster.
He rightly points out that when the team traded Sneed and let Charvarius Ward walk in free agency before him, they had natural replacements on the roster, something Kansas City doesn't appear to have now.
"The Chiefs always seem to let cornerbacks go when it's time to pay big money, but a big reason they've been able to get away with that is that they always have a replacement ready to go -- as McDuffie was when they traded Sneed, and like Sneed was when they moved on from Charvarius Ward. I'm not sure they have that heir apparent on the roster, unless they think it's Joshua Williams or Jaylen Watson," Graziano wrote.
Another factor in the decision to extend or trade McDuffie is obviously the money.
The Chiefs have a tight salary cap situation in 2026, with the team projected to be $44 million over the salary cap, but the outlook is a bit better in 2027, when the Chiefs will have $73 million to work with.
But that number is not set in stone by any means and will likely go down as Kansas City makes moves next offseason to be get cap compliant while also creating space to improve the roster.
The Chiefs would be best served letting McDuffie play out the final year of his deal and going from there.
That would allow Kansas City to better gauge its financial situation for 2027 before making a decision, and it's possible the Chiefs draft a future replacement that can make parting ways with McDuffie easier to stomach.
Kansas City can then re-assess things around the deadline and if they don't see a future with McDuffie in it, they can turn around and trade him for a solid return.
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