On Thursday morning, the Kansas City Chiefs officially finalized their trade for DeAndre Hopkins with the Tennessee Titans. He provides them with much-needed WR help. But before trading for Hopkins, the Chiefs tried to acquire another future Hall of Fame candidate.
Which Super Bowl-Winning WR Did the Chiefs Try To Acquire?
It’s a testament to Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid’s collective greatness that the Chiefs are undefeated through seven weeks. They haven’t exactly had the best injury luck.
The Chiefs lost Hollywood Brown for the season in the first preseason game. They lost starting RB Isiah Pacheco in the second week of the season. Then, Rashee Rice went down with a season-ending injury in the fourth week. Even fill-in WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is currently out with a hamstring strain. Naturally, the Chiefs were on the market for a wide receiver.
Before reaching their agreement with the Titans for Hopkins, the Chiefs actually contacted the Los Angeles Rams about Cooper Kupp. It appears that the two sides could have worked something out, but the financials didn’t line up, as the Chiefs needed the Rams to eat a significant portion of Kupp’s salary.
The Rams and the the Chiefs discussed Cooper Kupp, but the Super Bowl champs needed to trade with a team that was willing to take on a large chunk of the salary and didn’t want to give up high picks. Tennessee is the team willing to play ball.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini)
Kupp would have been a perfect fit on a Chiefs WR corps desperately in need of a clear target hot. Xavier Worthy has seen an uptick in usage, but he remains more of a gadget player/situational deep threat. Kupp would have been ideal for the Rice role in the Chiefs’ dink-and-dunk offense.
Instead, the Chiefs settled for Hopkins. The future Hall of Famer is certainly not a bad consolation prize.
Hopkins joins the Chiefs having caught just 15 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown in six games with the Titans. He should immediately take over as the primary outside receiver once he gets acclimated with the offense.
As for Kupp, rumors continue to persist regarding potential trade destinations. With the Nov. 5 trade deadline looming, Kupp could be on the move at any moment.
