Kansas City Chiefs: Price not right for cornerback at trade deadline

Possible targets at cornerback are not really worth the price and likely don’t provide much of an upgrade.

I’ve already indicated why Jalen Ramsey isn’t worth the price and likely doesn’t end up with the Chiefs. Patrick Peterson is another hot name, but he’s aging, suspended, and really never been available for a trade before. So, I will provide three players that a team may be willing to trade, and a player Chiefs fans know, and you be the judge on if that’s a player you want the team to trade for.

I will start using Pro Football Reference grades for the years 2017 and 2018, followed by Pro Football Focus grades for the 2019 season thus far. PFR does not have grades for partial seasons. Yes, one of the players listed will be Steelers cornerback Artie Burns, pictured above.

Player A: 2017 Grade (6) 2018 Grade (3) PFF Grade for 2019 (80.5)

Player B: 2017 Grade (3) 2018 Grade (4) PFF Grade for 2019 (57.6)

Player C: 2017 Grade (2) 2018 Grade (5) PFF Grade for 2019 (77.2)

Player D: 2017 Grade (5) 2018 Grade (7) PFF Grade for 2019 (48.0)

Player A is a former first round pick, as is player B. Player C is in the first year of a new deal and Player D is a veteran corner on a struggling team on a big money contract. Their identities are:

Player A: Artie Burns, Steelers

Player B: William Jackson, Bengals

Player C: Steven Nelson, Steelers

Player D: Josh Norman, Redskins

Burns is a pending free agent for a Steelers team that is struggling mightily and is without their starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, and perhaps longer; Jackson has played two years in the NFL (spent his rookie season on IR) for a Bengals team that continues to get worse and worse.

Nelson is a player the Chiefs appear to have made limited to no effort to keep despite him playing a position the Chiefs were weak at; Norman is an expensive veteran, turning 32 this December with a 14.3 million cap hit this year and a 15.5 number next year. That’s a lot of money for perhaps both an aging and declining player.

The point to this exercise is simply this:

During the past offseason, Chiefs fans showed no interest in the team keeping Steven Nelson and were not concerned about his departure. Now, as we look, the players that are perhaps likely actually available are, well, basically Steven Nelson-like players.

So, a player we as Chiefs fans basically pushed out the door this past offseason is what the Chiefs likely can actually acquire and bring in at the deadline.

If you had to pick a player in that group, Artie Burns may make the most sense. A free agent after the season, the Steelers have traded their first round selection to the Dolphins for Minkah Fitzpatrick. With their season spiralling at 1-4, could a fourth round pick perhaps entice them to part with Burns?