Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs trying to trade for Earl Thomas

While the Kansas City Chiefs already have one of the NFL’s elite safeties in Eric Berry, they are reportedly interested in pairing him up with Earl Thomas to create perhaps the greatest safety duo of all-time.

Earl Thomas and the Seattle Seahawks haven’t seen eye-to-eye for quite some time. Thomas wants to know that the Seahawks will take care of him financially in case something were to happen to him, while the Seahawks don’t seem to be as interested in investing in a 29-year-old due to the risk of him declining.

Other teams, however, seem to be more willing to pay Thomas his worth. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that the Kansas City Chiefs have emerged as a possible destination for Thomas, if the Seahawks were to trade him.

The Dallas Cowboys have long been mentioned in trade rumors for Thomas, with the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting that Dallas remains interested in acquiring the perennial All-Pro at free safety.

While the Cowboys interest in Thomas isn’t a surprise, the Chiefs reported desire to pursue a trade with Seattle is mildly surprising. Kansas City has Eric Berry, who has been one of the NFL’s premier safeties for years. In the 2010 NFL Draft, Berry was the fifth overall pick, and Thomas was the 14th overall selection.

The tandem of Berry and Thomas would be unstoppable, to say the least, and they would elevate cornerbacks Kendall Fuller, Steven Nelson, and veteran nickel guy Orlando Scandrick. With Ron Parker in a backup role at the safety position, the Chiefs secondary would go from “mediocre” to “great” just by adding Thomas.

Now, the logistics of a trade between the Chiefs and Seahawks would be more interesting to ponder, because the Chiefs would have to part ways with both draft capital and money. The latter investment may be more significant to the Chiefs, because with Thomas holding out and causing drama in the final year of his deal, Seattle might have to trade him in order to get something tangible in return. That could diminish the number of draft picks a team like Kansas City would have to trade.

The Chiefs offense is elite with Patrick Mahomes slinging the ball all over the field to weapons like Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Sammy Watkins. Unfortunately, the Chiefs defense has been one of the least effective in the league through two weeks, allowing 7.6 net yards per pass attempt while placing dead last in first downs allowed.

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Thomas would be an immediate answer, and the safety duo of Berry and Thomas would be a dream come true. It’s worth noting that a source told Adam Schefter that a Thomas trade to Dallas is “a super long shot,” which means the Chiefs could be more than just a darkhorse to obtain an embarrassment of riches at the safety position.

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