In the end, you have to wonder if Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach will regret his refusal to bite the bullet on the trade cost of Marshon Lattimore.
This past week featured the NFL's trade deadline and with it came plenty of rumors that the Chiefs were in negotiations with the New Orleans Saints on a potential deal for Lattimore, a four-time Pro Bowl cornerback who was on the block for a team sinking quickly in the standings. The only problem was that three other teams were reportedly in the mix, which kept the bidding going and the price climbling.
After having already made two other pre-deadline deals, Veach stood his ground and refused to meet the price for Lattimore, which ended up being third-, fourth-, and sixth-round picks in exchange for Lattimore and a fifth-round choice—all in next spring's 2025 NFL Draft.
For the Chiefs having already traded away next year's fifth-round pick and the 2026 draft's sixth-round selection in exchange for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (with the Tennessee Titans) and edge rusher Joshua Uche (New England Patriots), the cost was a bit too much.
The refusal to pay that much for Lattimore is understandable in an organizational sense, given how important draft assets are for the team's long-term ability to control costs. However, the need at cornerback is pretty pronounced at this point for a franchise that has goals of playing well into February—and that has Steve Spagnuolo worried.
Spagnuolo, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, was asked about the position after practice on Thursday as the Chiefs prepare to host the Denver Broncos in Week 10. After a physical battle on Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chiefs already face a short week, which is why the team went a bit lighter in practice with no pads or helmets, per Matt Derrick.
Further injuries at the position, including an ankle fracture for Jaylen Watson and a concussion for Nazeeh Johnson, would only deplete a vital position for the Chiefs' defensive success. Hence the worries for Spagnuolo.
"You don’t want any one position to get dinged up like that and that’s as important a position as there is in football in my opinion," said Spags to the media on Thursday.." So the next guy’s gotta step in there. Josh did it last week. We’ll see where Nazeeh is at the end of the week. Keith Taylor’s another guy that we may have to get in there. We gotta mix and match ‘em somehow to try to keep the other guys healthy because we can’t afford another injury back there."
Getting Johnson back from the concussion protocol would be a major development in terms of depth for the Chiefs but, as Spags noted, that will be something the team looks at later. The good news, however, is that he's been a full participant at practice every day so far this week.
The Broncos and Chiefs are scheduled to take the field at 12:00 p.m. C.T. on Sunday, November 10.
