4 Chiefs Who Aren’t Safe After Surviving Trade Deadline

It's been over a week since the NFL trade deadline passed and the Kansas City Chiefs are still the league's only remaining undefeated team. Confident about his team's outlook, general manager Brett Veach had a quiet deadline outside of acquiring wideout DeAndre Hopkins and pass rusher Joshua Uche in the days leading up to it.

With the time for trading over, the Chiefs are now focused on winning their third consecutive Super Bowl. While certain players have stepped up to help Kansas City achieve its early season success, others have failed to make much of an impact, leaving their future in town up in the air.

Here are four Chiefs who aren't safe following the trade deadline.

1. Justin Watson, WR

Expectations were at a decent level for Justin Watson after taking a step forward last season. The 2023 campaign was the ex-Pennsylvania wideout's best to date as he hauled in 27 catches for 460 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 16 games — all personal bests for him.

With Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice missing time early on, Chiefs fans hoped that Watson could use the opportunity to step up and prove his worth. Instead, the 29-year-old pass-catcher has struggled to separate himself from the pack. He's up to 177 yards without a TD on 15 catches through nine outings despite playing a career-high 64% of offensive snaps.

Outside of Week 9's 43-yard performance, it's been hard to be impressed by anything Watson has done this season. Even then, he came back down to earth one week later when he caught just two passes for six receiving yards against the Denver Broncos.

Unless Watson steps up down the stretch and in the playoffs, it's going to be hard to imagine him as a part of next season's offense. He's due to hit free agency in the offseason and GM Veach will be less inclined to bring the struggling wideout back if he can't prove himself.