For the first time in a while, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves between a rock and a hard place.
The team is coming off an ugly 6-11 season, capped off by a year-ending knee injury to quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The face of the franchise — and perhaps the NFL — faces a serious challenge to be a full-go by Week 1 of the 2026-27 campaign.
With that in mind, the pressure is on general manager Brett Veach to insulate the roster around Mahomes. Another losing season would be unacceptable. The last time the Chiefs had an identity crisis, they hit a massive reset button on the fly.
Could they do something similar by moving cornerback Trent McDuffie in the coming weeks?
Should Chiefs Trade Trent McDuffie This Offseason?
In a January 9 story, The Athletic NFL staff dove into how some teams can reopen their Super Bowl windows. For the Chiefs, beat writer Jesse Newell tied the McDuffie situation back to the “crossroads” the organization found itself at in 2022.
That offseason, wide receiver Tyreek Hill was traded in a shocking, blockbuster-style move. Newell thinks a path like that could be followed again.
“The logic is there,” Newell wrote. “McDuffie, at 25, remains in his prime and is everything a team could want from a personality and off-the-field perspective. The Chiefs already exercised his fifth-year rookie option for 2026 at $13 million. If they don’t plan to give him a long-term extension now, though, it would make sense to move him to another team that would be happy to lock in a young franchise corner for the foreseeable future.”
What could the star defensive stopper net in a trade? Newell believes a first-round pick isn’t out of the question.
“McDuffie would bring a healthy return,” Newell continued. “The Jets just received two first-round picks when trading cornerback Sauce Gardner, and while McDuffie shouldn’t be considered at Gardner’s level, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the Chiefs to think he could bring back something in the range of a first-round pick.”
In a December 24 story for CBS Sports, former NFL agent Joel Corry speculated that the Chiefs “should be able to get a first-round pick and other considerations for McDuffie.”
What Is Trent McDuffie Worth in Potential Extension Scenario?
It’s this writer’s take that Newell’s logic is sound. Should Kansas City feel the need to save serious funds and recoup other capital at the same time, McDuffie could be their best non-Mahomes piece. Defensive tackle Chris Jones has a massive contract and is aging, and pass rusher George Karlaftis isn’t a blue-chip talent like McDuffie is.
What if the Chiefs keep McDuffie, though? That path also makes a ton of sense. He’s objectively a premium player, and he’d be a value if he played on the aforementioned fifth-year option. The problem with that is without an extension, he’d be a free agent in 2027. A franchise tag application is always possible, but that is a scenario the team would likely seek to avoid.
At the top of the cornerback market, Indianapolis Colts star Sauce Gardner is making $30.1M annually. Derek Stingley Jr. of the Houston Texans is right behind him at an even $30M. Jaycee Horn of the Carolina Panthers ($25M), Jalen Ramsey of the Pittsburgh Steelers ($24.1M) and Patrick Surtain II of the Denver Broncos ($24M) round out the top five.
According to Spotrac, McDuffie’s calculated market value is $27.9M per year. That tracks, given the rest of the market and his recent performance. He was Pro Football Focus‘ No. 12-graded corner this past season and in 2024, his 83.1 grade was second to only Surtain among corners with 100+ snaps played.
McDuffie is coming off a 13-game 2025 campaign that saw him surrender 9.6 yards per completion and 6.1 yards per target. The only major hangup regarding his value is where he lines up. He’s better as a slot player, making elite-level effectiveness on the boundary in base packages come into question.
That, among other things, is something the Chiefs will have to consider with their offseason off and running.
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