Despite a 28-10 win over the Oakland Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs are thought to still be looking for help in their defensive secondary. For those wondering who might be a candidate at this point in the season, allow me to reintroduce you to Patrick Peterson.
Chiefs fans are most likely very familiar with his name since talk of acquiring the Arizona Cardinals' defensive back started way back at the beginning of the summer. Those rumors and murmurs have started up once again. The Last Word on Pro Football believes the move still makes sense and lays out a case for the Kansas City Chiefs to finally acquire Patrick Peterson.
Freeing up cap space could mean a move is coming
The site points out that just last week, the Kansas City Chiefs restructured the contracts of two players. Anthony Hitchen and Eric Fisher's contracts were both redone in a way that gives the team close to $10.6 million in cap space. It's certainly possible the team just wants a little more room to maneuver.
It's possible the team just wants to be able to have room to sign new players should someone get hurt and need to be replaced. We've already seen plenty of big names go down this season and we're only two weeks in. Ben Roethlisberger was announced as "out for the year" on Monday morning. Saints' quarterback Drew Brees is also expected to be out at least six weeks.
God forbid something happens to the Kansas City Chiefs' own signal-caller in Patrick Mahomes, the team might want to make sure they can sign a very good backup or even new starter. On the other hand, the amount of money they now have to move around stands out, because of the precise amount.
Dollars make sense
Patrick Peterson's base salary for this season is $11 million.
It seems hard to believe that's a coincidence. When you consider Cardinals have already paid some of that, the closeness of that salary and the room the Kansas City Chiefs now have to move under the salary cap can't be ignored.
If there is some more money owed to the cornerback, that could be made up by whoever is sent back to Arizona.
It's a safe bet the Cardinals are still going to want a decent return, even if Peterson is currently suspended (one of the reasons people think he could be on the move). Trades like this generally tend to involve only draft picks, but the Kansas City Chiefs could include a player the Cards can use this season.
Arizona is 0-1-1 but they've been very close to winning both games they've played. It doesn't appear they would say for certain this isn't a season they can compete. That might mean the Kansas City Chiefs have to offer up more than future picks. If they end up not needing to send another player, they now have enough room under the cap to restructure another contract and add one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.