NFL Trade Rumors: Chiefs eyeing WR due to Rashee Rice injury; Davante Adams deal unlikely | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to replace injured wide receiver Rashee Rice, but are not expected to acquire Las Vegas Raiders wideout Davante Adams, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

Rice was placed on injured reserve Thursday with a knee injury. It is not yet clear whether he will return this season.

Adams requested a trade from the Raiders earlier this week, but the Chiefs would struggle to make room for his cap hit, Schefter reported. According to Over the Cap, Kansas City has less than $4.8 million available.

Adams' cap hit represents the salary still in his contract at the time of the deal. That amount is expected to fall to about $12.2 million, less than its season-opening record of $16.89, but enough to require some salary maneuvering after the Raiders' Week 5 game on Sunday, if the Chiefs should pursue him.

Schefter added that Adams “may not be excited about playing in Kansas City” because of misdemeanor charges against him that were later dropped after he pushed a member of the media after a game at Arrowhead Stadium in October 2022 .

Another obstacle to a deal between the Chiefs and Adams could be the timing of the trade.

The Chiefs want to wait to find out more about Rice's injury before making a move, Schefter reported, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport recently wrote that Adams trade talks “are expected to gain momentum on Monday and Tuesday.”

Since Rapoport and Schefter have reported that the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers are interested in the Raiders' star wideout, the Chiefs could miss the window of his availability while they wait to learn more about Rice's recovery timeline experience.

Rapoport reported Saturday that Rice is scheduled to undergo “arthroscopic surgery” earlier this week to determine the extent of the injury he suffered last Sunday in the Chiefs' Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

According to Rapoport, Rice's potential recovery period could be anywhere from four, six weeks to nine months. According to Schefter, the Chiefs will wait until they learn which end of that timeline Rice is closer to before making a move.

Schefter mentioned Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins as a possible target for the Chiefs. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday that Kansas City was “absolute” to sign Hopkins in free agency before the 2023 season.

If the Jets are successful in trading for Adams, the Chiefs could alternatively pursue a New York wide receiver like Garrett Wilson or Allen Lazard, Schefter noted.

With Marquise Brown out for the season and Rice, who leads the team with 288 receiving yards, sidelined for the near future if not the rest of the season, the Chiefs are likely on track to make a midseason move to try another wideout. What that trade will look like will depend on what news Kansas City receives next week about Rice's injury.