Five Chiefs prospects swap targets to replace injured Rashee Rice

The Kansas City Chiefs need help at wide receiver with the likely loss of Rashee Rice.

Rice was injured in Sunday's 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and it's another blow to the team's receiving corps. After losing Hollywood Brown for the season a few weeks ago, Kansas City's depth chart at wideout looks incredibly thin. The team is 4-0, but if they want to win their third straight Super Bowl title, the roster needs to strengthen.

Patrick Mahomes needs more targets, which means the Chiefs will have to make a trade. As a reminder, Kansas City has a salary cap cap of around $5 million, so some moves may need to be made to create some room to recruit someone. But making a move for someone like Davante Adams with his $25.4 million cap hit is almost certainly out of the question. What follows is a list of five receivers the Chiefs could realistically trade for without Rice.

Johnson could be a perfect fit here. He's on a terrible Carolina Panthers team and is having a very good season. After a slow start with Bryce Young throwing him the ball, he has caught a total of 15 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns over the past two weeks with Andy Dalton under center. With Carolina getting stuck quickly, they could try to get something for their 28-year-old wideout.

Johnson signed a one-year, $10 million contract at the start of the season, making him cost-effective for the production he provides. Playing with Mahomes would only increase his name recognition if he hits free agency, giving him incentive to push for a move.

Slayton has just 10 receptions for 122 yards this season and the New York Giants are not making him a priority with the emergence of Malik Nabers. He is coming off a season in which he caught 50 balls for 770 yards and four touchdowns. He is a professional receiver, although he has had issues with drops throughout his career. He cleaned that up a bit last season, dropping from seven in 2022 to three in 2023. His cap hit is less than $8 million on a base salary of $2.5 million, so he could fit with some creative back and forth.

Burks is in his third season and things are just not going well with the Tennessee Titans. The franchise selected him with the 18th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but he never really got there and didn't live up to their expectations. He has fallen down the depth chart and has just two catches for 11 yards this season. As a rookie in 2022, he caught 33 passes for 444 yards and a touchdown and hasn't come close to those numbers since. It looks like he's completely out of the Titans' plans.

The downside is that Burks is tall (6-foot-1 and 220 pounds) and can run 15 feet in the 40-yard dash. He's athletic and with the right system he could probably do anything. He has a cap hit of 3.9 million this season and 4.6 million for 2025. Guys with his size and athleticism aren't available very often and he might be worth the risk.

Cooper may need a change of scenery since things aren't working out with the Cleveland Browns. In four weeks, the 30-year-old has 16 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns, but has really struggled to find consistency. That's shocking because in 2023 he caught 72 passes for 1,250 yards and five touchdowns. This was his second straight season with more than 1,000 yards. He should be much better than he is.

A move to the Chiefs could be just what he needs. His cap hit is just $8.7 million this season, making him affordable.

Woods is another professional receiver who has had a really nice career and even won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. Younger receivers have emerged for the Houston Texans, so the 32-year-old doesn't have much to do. So far, he has three catches for 28 yards in four games.

This is a plug-and-play option for the Chiefs. Woods would likely attack the offense quickly and be ready to contribute right away. He'll make just $9.7 million this season before hitting free agency. This would be a low-risk target for the Chiefs that could pay off big.