Turf Show Times
It may seem fortuitous that—at the same time—the Los Angeles Rams may potentially lose LT Alaric Jackson to suspension the Kansas City Chiefs saw veteran Wanya Morris request a trade.
Sometimes fixes are written in the stars, such as earlier this offseason when the Chiefs were reluctant to pay Trent McDuffie long-term and the Rams instead saw the star corner as a building block of their new secondary. The same goes for how the Cleveland Browns realized they are amidst a rebuild and Myles Garrett better fit LA’s short-term competitive timeline. The Browns managed to land Jared Verse as return compensation and should be a building block for the next era of the roster if they successfully stick the landing through the build.
The Rams and Chiefs have a track record of trades. But Morris is not who LA needs at tackle, even if they are set to lose Jackson for an extended period due to suspension.
KC drafted Morris in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft in hopes he could grow into their tackle of the future. The Chiefs hedged their bets by signing Donovan Smith in free agency in order to lock in a floor to protect Patrick Mahomes. While Smith had a rough track record in terms of health, he managed to limit Morris to just 340 snaps during his rookie season.
In 2024 the Chiefs selected Kingsley Saumataia in the second round to bring in more competition at tackle. Saumataia won the starting job on the left side out of training camp. When the rookie struggled, Morris took over in Week 3 logged over 700 snaps as a sophomore. The results were not pretty as Morris finished with 53.9 PFF offensive grade while allowing 35 pressures and drawing 10 penalty flags.
Kansas City continued their hefty investment in tackle the following offseason. They signed Jaylon Moore away from the 49ers in free agency to a steep two-year deal despite the fact he was never a full-time starter in San Francisco. They weren’t done. They also added Josh Simmons in the first-round of the draft.
In short, the Chiefs hoped Morris could develop into a future starter at tackle. They instead saw his on-field performance over two years and invested at every opportunity to find a better option, whether it was Smith, Saumataia, Moore, or Simmons.
The Chiefs spent a ton of salary cap space and draft resources to ensure Morris was on the field as little as possible. When Morris requested a trade, the Chiefs did not bat an eye. Some team will take the bait. It should not be the Rams.
