The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t land their wide receiver target on the first try.
Before they finalized a deal with the Indianapolis Colts for Josh Downs, the Chiefs checked in on Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Brian Thomas Jr. and got turned away. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday that Kansas City had interest in Thomas, but Jacksonville wasn’t moving him. The Chiefs also explored the cornerback market, though that search didn’t produce a deal either.
That left Downs as the eventual answer for a Kansas City offense looking for help at receiver. The trade came together just before Tuesday’s deadline, with the Chiefs sending fourth- and fifth-round picks to Indianapolis and getting Downs plus a seventh-round selection back. Fowler reported that league sentiment last week had Kansas City willing to give up a fourth-round pick, while the Colts were holding out for more and were believed to want a third-rounder.
Downs made it clear he preferred Kansas City over another interested suitor, too. Pittsburgh was in the mix for both Downs and Thomas, but the Steelers didn’t make a major move. Fowler said Downs “would have gone to Pittsburgh, which had interest, but definitely wanted Kansas City.”
The Jaguars, meanwhile, made their stance on Thomas plain. A report hours before the deadline confirmed Jacksonville would keep him, and Fowler said the Chiefs were told no when they called about him. Thomas has 10 catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns this season, but Jacksonville wasn’t interested in dealing him at a discount.
A Wednesday report suggested the Jaguars’ decision was influenced by the wave of receiver injuries around the league this fall. There was also the obvious football logic: Jacksonville likely didn’t want Thomas helping a team it could meet in a playoff game down the road, possibly one with conference-champion stakes in the 2026 campaign.
Downs arrives in Kansas City after posting 33 receptions for 354 yards and one touchdown through the Colts’ first nine games. And now the Chiefs have the receiver they were chasing, even if the path to get there started with a call to Jacksonville that went nowhere.
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For the Jaguars, the bigger takeaway is the message sent by the deadline itself: if a team believes it has a real shot, it has to decide whether to add, stand pat, or resist the temptation to break up what it already has. The leagues activity, from Jeffery Simmons landing with the Bears to Kirk Cousins ending up with the Vikings, underscored how quickly the balance can shift when front offices get aggressive. Jacksonville now has to keep an eye on how those choices ripple through the AFC, because the next move from a rival could matter just as much as anything that happened this week. [Read more 🡒]