Kansas City Chiefs: DeAndre Washington was expendable

The Kansas City Chiefs traded DeAndre Washington to the Dolphins in exchange for a sixth round draft pick.

The trade deadline came and went and while the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t trade for anyone, they did make a trade, sending DeAndre Washington to the Dolphins. In exchange, the Chiefs sent their 2021 seventh round pick to Miami and received Miami’s sixth round pick, bumping KC up in the later rounds of the draft.

Washington was a player that I was excited about when the Chiefs initially signed him to a contract, mainly because I saw him as a nice depth piece behind both Damien Williams and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. When Williams opted out, having Washington around seemed like an even smarter move because he was someone who had success in the league.

Unfortunately, Washington wasn’t utilized much in Kansas City, as the Chiefs instead went with Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson behind Edwards-Helaire. Le’Veon Bell signing with the Chiefs was the nail in the coffin for Washington as far as his time in KC went.

The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t need DeAndre Washington, so they traded him.

Washington saw playing time in just one game to this point (the blowout victory over Denver) where he rushed the ball three times for five yards and had one reception for two yards. Meanwhile, Williams has played in eight games while rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown while Thompson has appeared in seven games and rushed for 57 yards. The Chiefs clearly liked these two over Washington.

Miami needed another running back after Myles Gaskin was injured, so Washington will fill a position of need there. He’s a talented player and had success with the Raiders before coming to Kansas City, but with the Chiefs being a pass-heavy team, drafting a first round running back, and recently acquiring Bell, having Washington in KC just didn’t make sense anymore.

In the process, the Chiefs moved up in the 2021 NFL Draft from the seventh round and added a second sixth round pick. While the later rounds tend to shift around a lot, this was a solid move for Brett Veach and potentially gives them leverage in another trade down the line.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a plethora of talented running backs and that’s why they were able to make this trade. While I had higher hopes for Washington in a Chiefs jersey, the Chiefs got something in return and that’s perfectly fine.