It’s one of the football world’s biggest burning questions as the month of October rolls on: Will the Kansas City Chiefs add a wide receiver before the 2024 NFL trade deadline?

While there are still a few weeks before that needs to be answered, speculation won’t be slowing down one bit. As the back-to-back Super Bowl champs enter Week 7 with a perfect 5-0 record, there’s plenty of room to improve on the offensive side of the ball. Already down wideouts Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Rashee Rice for at least the regular season, Andy Reid’s club would benefit from a talent injection.

It takes two to tango, however, and Kansas City has yet to strike a deal with an opposing club. How strong have their efforts been? In a recent article with Dan Graziano of ESPN, Jeremy Fowler emptied his reporting notebook to give the latest on the Chiefs.

“The receiver-depleted Chiefs haven’t been overly aggressive on the market to this point,” Fowler wrote. “As was told to me, coach Andy Reid values receivers who either have played in his system or know it well. Finding a plug-and-play situation isn’t always clear cut. That said, Kansas City will stay nimble. The Chiefs liked DeAndre Hopkins in 2023 free agency, but Tennessee isn’t eager to deal him as of now, and he likes playing in Tennessee. I don’t get the sense he’s angling to get out of there. Carolina’s Diontae Johnson would be a good fit, but his base salary is $7 million and the Panthers do not seem eager to deal him just yet. The Bills just released Marquez Valdes-Scantling, so perhaps the Chiefs add a familiar face in the short term.”

Fowler’s report signals that Kansas City might ride the current wave of production from its offense but keep its eyes peeled regarding external options. Coming off Week 5’s huge performance against the New Orleans Saints, that makes at least some sense. In that outing, JuJu Smith-Schuster went over 100 receiving yards and rookie Xavier Worthy continued to showcase his growth. On the other hand, relying on an injury-prone wideout and a first-year player – along with 35-year-old tight end Travis Kelce – is an insanely risky proposition.

The Chiefs are maintaining a consistent philosophy pertaining to trades. While having someone who’s familiar with their style of offense would be nice, Reid himself said this week that it isn’t absolutely necessary. When considering players like Hopkins or Mike Williams of the New York Jets, it’s important to factor in their archetype compared to what Kansas City traditionally values on offense.

The champs’ salary cap situation is another potential obstacle. Currently estimated to have just over $4 million to work with, fitting in a high-level playmaker is much easier said than done. A combination of base salary ($8.27M) and per-game roster bonuses ($1.02M) makes a Hopkins acquisition tricky, even with those figures being deflated now that the season is rolling. The same is true for Johnson ($7M base), and it would’ve been true for Davante Adams before he got moved to the New York Jets. Amari Cooper was one of the few cheap and good receivers available. He’s now with the Buffalo Bills.

That leaves the Chiefs stuck between a rock and a hard place. There are ways to improve the wide receiver room, albeit far more to get better depth instead of a starting-caliber option. A lot can change between now and November 5, so buckle up for one of the busiest times of the NFL calendar.

Read More: Andy Reid Explains Chiefs’ Self-Scouting, Areas for Improvement After Bye Week

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Missouri basketball has a long and storied rivalry with the Kansas Jayhawks, dating back to March 11, 1907.

Known as the “Border War,” the rivalry has seen intense matchups over the years, with Kansas holding the upper hand in the series, winning 175 of the 270 games played.

Missouri, however, has claimed 95 victories, some of which are etched in Tigers lore.

One memorable moment for Missouri came in February 2012, when the Tigers, ranked No. 4 in the country, staged an epic comeback against No. 8 Kansas.

Down by eight points with under three minutes to play, Missouri roared back to win 74-71, led by Marcus Denmon’s 29-point performance.

The victory not only energized the program but also added another chapter to the fierce rivalry.

As the Tigers prepare for the 2024-25 season, they are set to face the Jayhawks for the fourth consecutive year after an eight year absence, a game circled on many fans’ calendars.

However, the players are keeping their focus on the present, refusing to get caught up in the hype of facing the No. 1 team in the country.

For Duke transfer forward Mark Mitchell, the Kansas matchup is exciting, but it’s nothing he or the program hasn’t seen before.

“Yeah, obviously it’s cool, you know, getting to play the top teams, top school in the country,” Mitchell said at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s anything new to me, or new to the program. I think we’re a winning program, and I think we can beat anyone on our schedule, but also be beat by anyone on our schedule. When that time comes, it’s gonna be a great atmosphere, a great place, and I’m just really excited to enjoy that moment.”

While the anticipation builds for the annual showdown, Iowa transfer guard Tony Perkins isn’t even thinking about Kansas yet.

For him, the focus is on getting the Tigers ready for the grind of the season and ensuring the team is prepared for every challenge.

“To be truthful with you, we haven’t really even thought about games that far away,” Perkins said. “We’ve mostly just been trying to figure out how we feel, get these days stacked, and just keep going and keep working until that first game comes. When the time comes, we’ll worry about Kansas or whoever, but right now, it’s about getting our team right.”

With the Border War set to reignite in December, Missouri fans are eager for their new-look Tigers to take on the top-ranked Jayhawks.

For now, Dennis Gates’ squad is simply focused on building team chemistry and taking one game at a time as they prepare for a new season.

As the Kansas City Chiefs return from their bye week, the running back rotation figures to look similar to Week 5’s win over the New Orleans Saints. Some combination of Kareem Hunt, Samaje Perine and Carson Steele should work to replace the production of Isiah Pacheco as he recovers from a broken fibula. The eventual return of Clyde Edwards-Helaire could complicate things, although it’d be a good problem to have.

Of the aforementioned names, Hunt is the leader of the group. The proof is in the box score, as the 29-year-old has 41 carries in his two games on the active roster this season. That includes a staggering 27 in Week 5, which is a total he’s exceeded just twice in his career.

For someone with over 1,000 rushing attempts in the NFL, that might be a minor cause for concern. When adding in the context of Hunt’s lack of durability over the last year-plus, it becomes an even bigger risk. Despite that, Kansas City seems just fine giving Hunt the keys to the proverbial car.

Speaking to the media this week, head coach Andy Reid gave Hunt a vote of confidence as the Chiefs’ go-to running back.

“I kind of joked with him, Soren (Petro), that he’d spend the bye week in the cold tub after all those carries,” Reid said. “I mentioned before that he came back in pretty good shape other than not having played football, and that’s held true to this point. He’s been able to do a good job in practice when he was on the scout team. Then, he worked through that [and] he was able to get in the game. We started him off relatively slow and then increased it and he was able to handle both of those things. I think – and we’ll just see how the game goes – but I feel comfortable with him carrying the ball. We had Steele backing him up there, he had a few carries that were productive, so we’re in pretty good shape there.”

Going back to Hunt’s 41 carries in two games, it’s a testament to the Chiefs’ recent commitment to running the football on offense. In Pacheco’s career, he’s never met or surpassed that total in a two-game stretch of regular-season play. He has once in the playoffs, however, amassing 42 totes between January’s AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens and February’s Super Bowl LVIII triumph over the San Francisco 49ers. In those games combined, Pacheco had 127 yards and a touchdown. Hunt’s return to Kansas City is seeing him fare even better.

Don’t get it twisted: Hunt won’t always carry the rock that many times. A vast majority of games won’t call for it, and Reid will let Patrick Mahomes air it out before anything else. But in a world where defenses are attempting to take away the vertical passing game and the Chiefs’ top two wide receivers are injured, going to the run isn’t the worst idea. Not only does it help control the clock, but it’s hard to ignore the league’s second-highest rushing success rate.

Even after Edwards-Helaire is back, expect to see plenty of Hunt on offense. That should remain the case until Pacheco is 100% healthy.

Read More: Chiefs Staying Consistent Regarding Philosophy on Potential WR Trade at Deadline