The Kansas City Chiefs could have used personnel improvements to a couple of key areas on the roster ahead of this week’s NFL trade deadline, including at running back, where they nearly made a deal for New York Jets star Breece Hall.
New York was the most active seller on Tuesday, November 4, flipping cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, its two best defensive performers, for a total of three first-round picks, a second-round pick and two players. Hall was also on the block for the right price (at least in the collective mind of the Jets), which Kansas City almost reached but didn’t quite clear.
“According to a team source, the negotiations between the teams broke down over the compensation for Hall, who is in the final year of his rookie contract,” Nate Davis of ESPN reported Thursday. “The Chiefs offered a 2026 fourth-round pick for the 24-year-old, who the source says wanted to join another team after fellow teammates cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams were traded Tuesday. The Jets, though, wanted a 2026 third-round pick.”
The quibbling over a middle-round pick renders both teams losers in the failed transaction, though the entity hurt most by the failed deal is Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Chiefs May Be Asking Patrick Mahomes to Do Too Much in AFC Championship Defense
GettyKansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The inability to reach a deal hurt both sides in the immediate, though the Chiefs will feel the pain more quickly than will the Jets.
Kansas City entered its bye this week coming off of a disappointing road loss to the rival Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs’ fifth consecutive regular-season defeat at the hands of a team it has bested four straight times in the playoffs during the Mahomes era.
The Chiefs are 5-4 and currently on the outside looking in at the seven-team postseason field. Upon a return to action in Week 11, Kansas City must face the Denver Broncos on the road before hosting the Indianapolis Colts in the following game — a couple of 7-2 squads tied for the best record in the NFL.
Kansas City has the 12th-ranked rushing attack in the league, though Mahomes is responsible for 285 of the team’s 903 total ground yards, which is a potentially dangerous and/or unsustainable burden for a player already carrying much of the offense on his shoulders. The two-time MVP is on pace to rush for 538 yards in 2025, despite never running for even 400 yards at any other time in his nine-year NFL career.
“Brett Veach did nothing to help out the two most vulnerable spots on the Chiefs. Still no good running back. Still have an underwhelming [defensive line],” NFL analyst Joel Moran wrote on X. “Looking forward to Patrick Mahomes carrying this roster again!”
Jets Hurt Rebuild Effort With Stubbornness Around Breece Hall Trade
GettyRunning back Breece Hall of the New York Jets.
Instead of going up one round in their asset trade offer, the Chiefs will instead rely on the combination of Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt to carry them through the year.
Hall, however, would have been a clear upgrade over both players, as he has put together a season comprised of 581 ground yards (5.0 yards per carry) and two rushing TDs to go along with 21 receptions for 178 receiving yards — all despite playing on arguably the worst team in the league.
The Jets’ stubbornness of wanting a third-round pick rather than a fourth-rounder isn’t going to serve their rebuild in any way, as Hall wants an exit from the organization and can make one next March when he becomes a free agent.
New York’s only chance to keep Hall appears to be by utilizing the franchise tag, which makes little sense because the team has two second-year running backs on the roster in Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis who will command considerably less money over the next two seasons than would Hall on a new contract.
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