The Kansas City Chiefs are shutting down some of their best players for the remainder of the season, as talk of blockbuster additions in the spring has now begun.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is out until at least the start of next season after surgery to repair ACL and LCL tears in his knee, while the future of tight end Travis Kelce with both the team and in the NFL remains major question lingering over the organization.
Kelce has taken a step back from the dominant force he was for more or less a decade, though he still topped 800 receiving yards for the 12th consecutive time in 2025 and earned his 10th straight Pro Bowl nod. Thus, if he retires after the season, Mahomes will lose the most consistent weapon of his career.
The presence of wide receiver Rashee Rice, who is now on IR for the remainder of the campaign, should help ease that burden. But Rice has missed several games early in his career due to injuries and off-field conduct issues, and he has just one year remaining on his rookie contract before the lure of free agency comes calling.
All of this equates to a need in Kansas City for a stalwart playmaker, and wideout George Pickens has emerged as one of the best receivers in the sport during his first year with the Dallas Cowboys.
Chiefs May Have Opportunity to Pry George Pickens From Cowboys
GettyWide receiver George Pickens of the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas is likely to want Pickens back in 2026, but the team needs defense in the worst way and has already invested an incredible amount in longterm deals for QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb.
Pickens was the offense’s best weapon this season, but he’s also potentially going to command $30-$40 million annually over a new longterm contract. Dallas needs to win out just to finish .500 this year, which could impact how owner Jerry Jones decides to spend the team’s available financial assets in the offseason.
The Cowboys will have the option to apply the franchise tag to Pickens, which should cost around $28 million in 2026. However, if Dallas doesn’t go that route and/or offer Pickens a near top of the market deal over multiple years, the Chiefs will have both the motive and opportunity to execute a heist of the 24-year-old who just earned the first Pro Bowl honors of his career.
“The Chiefs wanted to feature the deep ball this season, but it didn’t work out as planned. [Xavier] Worthy missed a few games with a dislocated shoulder, and Patrick Mahomes’ pass-catchers let him down with drops,” Moe Moton of Bleacher Report wrote December 22. “Kansas City can bring in Pickens to open up its passing attack. He can also be an upgrade over Rice if the team has second thoughts about the 25-year-old entering a contract year.”
Jerry Jones Indicates Some Uncertainty About Cowboys’ Personnel Path in 2026
GettyDallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Jones spoke about the Cowboys’ offseason plans with some uncertainty, seemingly referencing Pickens during a radio interview earlier this week.
“I don’t know. We’ll see where we are with our own players,” Jones said, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. “I’ll be active, but the question is the degree of activity. I can’t imagine not doing things in free agency.”
The Chiefs have plenty of personnel decisions to make as well, as they currently face a $46 million cap deficit in 2026 and have real needs on the defensive line and in the offensive backfield, as well as multiple meaningful contributors in the secondary heading for free agency in March.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Chiefs Top Candidate to Pair Mahomes With $123 Million WR appeared first on Heavy Sports.