With just over a week until the NFL’s trade deadline, the Kansas City Chiefs are set to be one of the league’s most aggressive buyers. The Chiefs enter Monday night’s game against the Washington Commanders having won four of their past five games, and another win on Monday night could put them in the middle of a tight AFC West race that includes the 6-2 Denver Broncos and the 5-3 Los Angeles Chargers.
A slow start has meant the Chiefs have some ground to make up in the standings, and the deadline represents an opportunity to fill those needs, including at defensive tackle. With Omarr Norman-Lott suffering a season-ending ACL tear in the Week 7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, upgrading the interior of the defensive line will be a priority.
But the Chiefs had some unwanted company in their pursuit of an upgrade as the Buffalo Bills entered the running after Ed Oliver suffered a significant bicep injury and will be sidelined indefinitely according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Ed Oliver’s Injury Could Set Up Bidding War Between Chiefs and Bills for D-Line Help
Oliver was injured toward the end of the first half in the Bills’ 40-9 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon and left a big hole in the middle of Buffalo’s defensive line. The 27-year-old was playing at a high level when on the field this season, logging a career-high 87.3 overall grade with 11 pressures and three sacks according to Pro Football Focus. But it was a limited sample size as Oliver was out with an ankle injury before getting injured again in Sunday’s win.
This leaves the Bills searching for reinforcements. The Chiefs were one of the teams looking for interior defensive line help before Sunday, but now they’ll have a rival participating in a bidding war alongside them.
A bigger issue may be the lack of options available. Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets figures to be the top prize for either team, but the rest of the crop are stop gaps, including 39-year-old Calais Campbell, 31-year-old Dalvin Tomlinson of the Arizona Cardinals, and 34-year-old Shelby Harris of the Cleveland Browns.
Even worse, the Bills may be in a more desperate situation than the Chiefs to get these players. Fellow starting defensive tackle DaQuan Jones is currently dealing with a calf injury, and Buffalo is down to rookie Deone Walker and veteran Larry Ogunjobi as they deal with the aftermath of Oliver’s injury.
The Chiefs are in a serviceable position as Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery will fill in for Norman-Lott in the short term. But even Chris Jones, who has been a stalwart of the Kansas City defense for years, is having a down year compared to the standard he has set during his time with the team. The Chiefs could also turn to Charles Omenihu, who has played defensive tackle in the past. But his hot and cold play makes him a risky bet and puts rookie Ashton Gillotte in a pressure-packed position on the outside.
If the price gets driven up, it could convince Kansas City that they don’t need an upgrade that bad and could leave a big hole in their defensive line that will have to get patched up internally.