AFC Notes: Chiefs, Raiders, Titans

Chiefs

Chiefs GM Brett Veach spoke with Pro Football Talk and went into a deep dive on why the team opted to trade WR Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins this offseason.

“It’s certainly a crazy dynamic,” Veach said, via Pro Football Talk. “I think we got certainly tipped off early on in free agency. When you start to see the receiver deals come in, I think it’s one of those situations where it’s probably a case-by-case basis. I’m sure it has a lot to do with where teams are and the stress to win right now do you have a rookie under contract, or do you have a veteran? Someone asked me earlier about where we stand on that and I think it’s truly just a year-by-year basis. If your cap is in a situation where you’re good now and you have some years that fall where you’re in a position to be aggressive, I think teams will be aggressive. This year was just a different year for us in regards to where we were with our quarterback and some other players on the team. Now, this may come full circle where in a couple of years from now we’re going out there and we’re one of those teams signing that big free-agent wide receiver. We like where the draft was and we thought this was a point in time during this run here with Pat [Mahomes] that we can take a step back and get the resources and add receivers, and we did that with [JuJu Smith-Schuster] and [Marquez Valdes-Scantling] and certainly Skyy Moore there in the draft, but also use some of those resources to add to the defense. We certainly wanted to get younger and deeper there, too. This was a scenario we took a step back and we thought it’d be best for the team and we went ahead and made that trade and I think both teams will benefit from it.”

Veach also weighed whether it was easier to make the decision due to the contract Hill was seeking from Kansas City. 

“Yes and no,” Veach said. “I think on one end…it was a third contract, not a second contract. Father Time is undefeated in this league unless you’re Tom Brady. To that degree that was a part of our in-depth conversations about the landscape of the NFL, and then more specifically where we were as an organization. Yes in that regard, but also it is tough [when] on the flip side you have accomplished so much. He’s still playing at a high level. The rapport that he has with Travis [Kelce] and with Pat is special and unique. I think it goes both ways. I think it probably helped push the ball over the goal line, so to speak, to do this. Trades like that are never easy, and they’re always emotional. I know it’s a business and everyone knows this from people that are GMs and coaches and certain players. I mean, at the end of the day it’s a business, but it doesn’t mean that you are totally void of emotional attachments and he was certainly a player we had one with. It was tough, but I think it was certainly the best thing for our organization.

He also spoke about what type of weapons the team still boasts on offense without Hill.

“I think that the cool thing about what we have here is when you have a coach like Andy Reid and an offensive coordinator like Eric Bieniemy and Pat Mahomes. I think there are many ways to score points and many ways to move the football. I think you’ve seen Coach [Reid] do it over the years with different types of skill sets and different types of quarterbacks. He’s had an advantage because no quarterback he’s ever had is quite as gifted as Pat. But sporadically throughout the last four, five, six years, we’ve had many games without Tyreek and many games without Travis. Now you could easily argue that it’s a small sample size and it’s only a few games and what have you. We still love the talent on this team. We have guys that can run in Mecole Hardman and MVS. We’re going to add a rookie here in Skyy Moore. We have some size with Travis and with JuJu. I think on top of that, we also have a great offensive line. I think there’ll be many ways to score points and I think Coach will never be short of creativity. I think our game plan will be much like it was and has been every year. That’s just to find ways to get these guys in positions to win. Now listen, with Tyreek it was a little easier because we’d just tell him to run. That’s the way of winning. With these guys we have here, they may not be as fast, but we have a ton of talent.”

Raiders

• Raiders GM Dave Ziegler is hiring former Dolphins executive Lenny McGill as a Senior National Scout. (Ian Rapoport)
• Matt Verderame thinks the Raiders would make sense as a landing spot for Giants CB James Bradberry if he gets released given they were active in the free-agent market at his position. 

Titans

Adam Schefter recently mentioned that the Titans explored trades for QB Aaron Rodgers and QB Deshaun Watson this offseason.

“There is a lot riding on this season for Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans,” Schefter said, via TitansWire.com. “They were dipping their toes in on Aaron Rodgers during the offseason before he re-signed in Green Bay. They checked in on Deshaun Watson and found that he wouldn’t be traded in the division.”