Chiefs, Andy Reid Remain Mum on Potential Trade Deadline Deals

Chiefs historically proved sellers rather than buyers at the trade deadline, but that could change with NFL teams take more aggressive acquisition approach

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- If the Chiefs are planning to make a move before next week's NFL trade deadline, head coach Andy Reid says he doesn't know anything about it – yet.

“(General manager) Brett (Veach) and his crew do all that, (director of football operations) Mike Borgonzi and his whole group there, they work like crazy on that.” 

The 2019 NFL trade deadline arrives Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. central time. The deadline once proved an irrelevant day on the NFL calendar. The deadline didn't matter because NFL teams once upon a team seldom made deals once the regular season began. 

Yet teams already consummated eight trades in the last eight days, and the rumor mill continues churning. Reid says that's a positive for the league.

“I think it's where it's gone with all the rules, regulations and salaries that people look forward to that,” Reid said. “I think the media coverage is way different than it used to be, that's helped I'm sure accelerate that excitement a little bit.”

The Chiefs have historically never been a big mover or shaker at the NFL trade deadline. The club on occasion has traded players for draft capital. In 2016 the Chiefs sent running back Knile Davis to the Green Bay Packers for a conditional pick. The Packers later released Davis, so the Chiefs didn't receive a pick.

Back in 2010 the Chiefs sent defensive end Alex Magee and a sixth-round pick to Tampa Bay for a fifth-round pick, which turned into quarterback Ricky Stanzi. The year before the Chiefs sent defensive tackle Tank Tyler to Carolina for a third-round pick

To find the last time the Chiefs acquired a player in October ahead of the deadline, you have to go all the way back to 1997. That's when the Chiefs sent a fifth-round choice to Green Bay for linebacker Wayne Simmons.

The Chiefs stood 4-2 at the time following a 17-14 loss to the Dolphins. In parts of two seasons Simmons picked up 49 total tackles with 3 1/2 sacks in 20 games. The Chiefs waived Simmons midway through 1998 season after the “Monday Night Meltdown” went he and Derrick Thomas were flagged for five personal fouls on a single drive in a 30-7 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Packers used the selection they received on wide receiver Corey Bradford, who spent nine seasons in the NFL. During four campaigns with Green Bay, Bradford caught 71 passes for 1,190 yards and seven touchdowns in 42 games with 10 starts.

As a reflection of the NFL's changing trade market, the Simmons trade was one of only two in-season trades during the 1997 campaign.

“Just a couple of years ago people were saying that there are no trades that take place in this league a few years back,” Reid said.

Will the Chiefs make a move this year? Reid says he has other worries on his plate right now, so he will let Veach and the personnel department worry about trades and roster mechanics.

“They kind of leave us along unless they haven't had an opinion on somebody, then they'll have a coach look at,” Reid said. “They do the work, that's where it's at.”