The Chiefs don’t have much time left to fix a problem that’s been staring them in the face all season: they need another wide receiver before the trade deadline.
Rashee Rice’s return from a hamstring injury helped in Week 8, but it didn’t solve everything. The loss to the Denver Broncos made that plain. Xavier Worthy isn’t going to live up to his first-round stock, Tyquan Thornton is out for several months, if at all, Cyrus Allen is a rookie fifth-round pick, and Jalen Royals hasn’t done much with the snaps he’s received.
That leaves Brett Veach with a decision he probably can’t avoid anymore. The Chiefs ignored the position in the offseason, and now the deadline is forcing the issue.
Fans can dream about Garrett Wilson, but that isn’t happening. A far more realistic target is Baltimore Ravens receiver Rashod Bateman.
Bateman makes sense for a few reasons, starting with Baltimore’s situation. The Ravens are 4-4, and they just lost Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley for the season.
With Joe Fagnano at quarterback, the AFC North suddenly looks even tougher for them. If Week 9 against Jacksonville goes badly, Baltimore could decide it’s time to sell.
Bateman had already been floated as a possible trade candidate before Jackson’s latest injury, and Jeremy Fowler even pointed to the Chiefs as a logical fit.
Baltimore took Bateman 27th overall in 2021 out of Minnesota, and he has been a steady part of their offense through five full seasons. Before the 2025 season, the Ravens gave him a three-year extension worth $36.75 million that runs through 2029.
He was coming off his best year when he got that deal, finishing with a career-high 756 yards and 9 touchdowns. Since then, the numbers haven’t matched that peak - he had 19 catches for 224 yards last year - but the quarterback situation in Baltimore has been messy. In Kansas City, he’d be catching passes from Patrick Mahomes.
That matters because the Chiefs have already seen what a vertical threat can do for this offense. Thornton gave Mahomes a reason to push the ball downfield, and it was clear Mahomes trusted him to get where he needed to be.
With Thornton sidelined, Kansas City lost that element. Bateman could fill that role and give the Chiefs another downfield weapon.
The point here isn’t finding a 1,000-yard star. It’s adding someone who can stretch the field and give Mahomes another reliable target with speed and size. Bateman fits that description.
Financially, he also looks manageable. Because Baltimore would be on the hook for roster bonuses, the Chiefs would be looking at cap hits of $8.25 million in 2027, $10.25 million in 2028, and $12.25 million in 2029. If he produces, those numbers would look like a bargain.
Ravens expert Connor Burke said future cap concerns could eventually push Baltimore toward a deal, even if Bateman is under contract for a while.
"I’d lean closer to him sticking around just because he’s on a team-friendly deal through 2029, and I doubt the Ravens try to move anything outside a few one-year contracts. But Baltimore’s also in a very tough cap situation next offseason, which might create some uncomfortable trade conversations."
Burke added that a fourth- or fifth-round pick could be enough to get a deal done. Even so, Baltimore may not be eager to send him to Kansas City, given the way these teams have gone at each other in recent years.
There’s also a separate issue the Chiefs would have to weigh. In August, TMZ reported that Bateman allegedly smashed the windows of his child’s mother’s car while their three-month-old child was inside. The incident reportedly happened in June and led to Bateman’s arrest.
Jamison Hensley of ESPN wrote soon after that Bateman could face discipline. "Bateman could face discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. A violation of the policy involving family violence could lead to an unpaid suspension of six games."
No punishment has been handed down, but the legal situation would still be part of any trade discussion. If Kansas City were to pursue Bateman, it would have to account for that possibility.
The Chiefs have a week left to figure out what they want to do at receiver. Bateman looks like one of the best realistic options available, and he wouldn’t require the team to break the bank. Now it’s on Veach and the front office to make the call before the deadline passes.
In Other News...
Caitlin Clark Just Weighed In On The Ultimate Chiefs Debate
Caitlin Clark has never been shy about her Kansas City Chiefs fandom, even with her day job now tied to Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever star recently appeared on Kylie Kelces podcast and spent some time talking through her allegiance to the Chiefs, a loyalty that has followed her since childhood and still shows up even as she plays for another Midwest city.
The conversation naturally drifted into the kind of debate Chiefs fans love most: favorites, eras and the players who defined them. Clark singled out Travis Kelce as her top choice among all-time Chiefs, while also giving plenty of respect to names like Tony Gonzalez and Patrick Mahomes. She also had positive things to say about how the team has looked this season, which is exactly the sort of outside perspective Kansas City fans will happily take while the bigger conversation around the roster keeps rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Xavier Worthy Still Hasn't Become The Chiefs Threat They Drafted
Xavier Worthy arrived in Kansas City with the kind of speed that usually changes how defenses line up, but the big-play version of the Chiefs receiver has been harder to find than expected. Through his young career, he still has only one 100-yard receiving game, the same total as rookie running back Emmett Johnson, a reminder that the vertical threat the Chiefs drafted has not yet become a consistent weekly problem for opposing secondaries.
The latest example came against Denver, where Kansas City got more production through an unexpected source than from the player built to stretch the field. Johnson led the Chiefs in receiving yards and found the end zone, while Worthy was held to a quiet afternoon, leaving the team still waiting for the deep-ball impact that was supposed to be part of his calling card. [Read more 🡒]
Andy Reid Signals Two Chiefs Decisions Fans Will Be Watching Closely
Andy Reids latest injury update brought a little more clarity to the Chiefs Week 9 prep, with Peter Woods still the only player kept out of practice because of a neck stinger and Mansoor Delane back on the field after dealing with a shoulder injury. There was also a positive note for the offense, as Rashee Rice is expected to keep trending up after his recent return from a hamstring injury, giving Kansas City another piece to work with as it gets ready for the Jets at home.
The bigger roster questions, though, are the ones fans will keep watching in the coming days. Reids comments pointed to movement at left guard, where Kingsley Suamataia looks positioned to get another shot in the lineup, while general manager Brett Veach continues to monitor the market ahead of the November 10 trade deadline. With the Chiefs trying to steady things in the middle of the season, the next decisions could shape both the immediate lineup and whatever help might still be on the way. [Read more 🡒]