Chiefs urged to consider trade decision with first-round bust DE that makes perfect sense

The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to get back to the postseason after missing it last year in a worst-case-scenario season.

The offense is in good shape, though there are some question marks on defense after trading Trent McDuffie and losing Jaylen Watson and Bryan Cook in free agency. But that shouldn't stop the Chiefs from making some more changes.

Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox is urging the Chiefs to consider a trade of former first-round bust Felix Anudike-Uzomah. Trading him would make a lot of sense for three simple reasons. Those are cap space, depth chart, and production.

Chiefs urged to make Felix Anudike-Uzomah available for trade

"While Anudike-Uzomah could rebound to be a quality contributor for Kansas City this season, he could just as easily get stuck behind 2025 third-round pick Ashton Gillotte and rookie second-round pick R Mason Thomas," Knox writes. "It's worth seeing if the Chiefs can cash in on Anudike-Uzomah's draft status and potential on the trade market."

The Chiefs are urged to put Anudike-Uzomah on the trade market, with the hope of cashing in on any semblance of value for the former first-round edge rusher.

Trading Anudike-Uzomah would make sense for the Chiefs for a few reasons, one of which is to create more cap space.

As Knox noted, moving on from the first-round bust in a trade could net the Chiefs $2.4 million in cap savings on their already low $4.6 million cap space figure.

But the financial incentive is far from the only reason why moving on from Anudike-Uzomah makes sense for the Chiefs ahead of the 2026 season.

Since being drafted in 2023, Anudike-Uzomah has played in just 34 games, recording a total of 3.0 sacks with 41 total tackles and eight tackles for loss. He's just not been productive enough to justify keeping him on the roster.

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He's a free agent after the 2026 season and is likely not in the Chiefs' long-term plans after these poor production seasons. Trading him now, even if it's for a small return, would make sense.

The other reason why an Anudike-Uzomah trade would work for the Chiefs is that their depth chart is already in good shape. George Karlaftis, R Mason Thomas, and Ashton Gillotte are a good three-man defensive end grouping.

With Emmanuel Ogbah, Tyreke Smith, VJ Anthony, Anthony Dunn, and Ethan Hurkett rounding out the depth chart, plus the option to sign or trade for a better depth defensive end, moving on from Anudike-Uzomah wouldn't hurt this Chiefs DL.

So, between the cap savings, Anudike-Uzomah's struggles with the team, the strong depth chart, and the fact that he's a free agent after the 2026 season, making Anudike-Uzomah available for trade and moving on from him is a no-brainer for the Chiefs.

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