Why Andy Reid Isn’t Concerned About Chiefs Losing Trent McDuffie, WR Need

The Chiefs are in the midst of a pivotal offseason.

For only the second time since Reid became head coach in 2013 and the first time since drafting Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City missed the playoffs. Not only did the perennial contenders miss the playoffs, but they missed the AFC championship game for the first time since Mahomes took over as their starter.

As the Chiefs look to return to Super Bowl contention and fix their cap space issues, they’ve been re-tooling their roster. That’s started with Kansas City parting ways with several pieces who were key to their run of three consecutive Super Bowls from 2022-24. The Chiefs released defensive end Michael Danna and tackle Jawaan Taylor before free agency, traded corner Trent McDuffie to the Rams and watched several players exit in free agency—with names such as corners Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams, safety Bryan Cook, running back Isiah Pacheco, linebacker Leo Chenal and defensive linemen Derrick Nnadi and Charles Omenihu finding homes elsewhere.

The biggest losses for the Chiefs come in the secondary, where they lost three starters including a first-team All-Pro in McDuffie. Despite all the needs they have, Reid seemingly remains even-keeled about all the Chiefs’ ability to fill them.

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"I've been in positions as a head coach where we've replenished the secondary," Reid said to Judy Battista of NFL.com. "At Green Bay [as an assistant coach in the 1990s], we replenished in the secondary. I've been through that and seen it be productive. Do you want to lose a [Trent] McDuffie? No, but that's today's football. That's how this thing works today. So, you've got to stay flexible, and then you've got to put yourself in a position where you can replenish that.”

It also helps Reid that the Chiefs added a good piece to the secondary in corner Nohl Williams, a third-round pick out of Cal in last year’s draft. Williams appeared in 17 games in 2025—starting five of them—and allowed just a 52.5% completion rate in coverage. PFF graded him as the 16th-best corner last season.

“We drafted a good kid last year, so I know we'll continue to work through that this year. I'm really not worried about it,” Reid said. “I look forward to seeing who these people are that come in."

The issue is, it’s not solely about filling out the secondary. It’s that the Chiefs have numerous needs to fill in one offseason, including at receiver and edge. They addressed running back with the splash signing of Kenneth Walker III and signed safety Alohi Gilman to help in the secondary, but still have significantly more room for improvement. With the bulk of free agency over, the Chiefs’ best option is to add through the draft. Even so, Reid doesn’t seem overly worried.

Reid noted to Battista that he isn’t planning to force adding to their edge rusher group and believes the Chiefs are “in a better position than most teams" at wide receiver.

Regardless of Reid’s comments, the Chiefs would be better-served with an upgraded receiving core. The team’s leading wide receiver last year was Hollywood Brown, who recorded 587 yards on 49 catches and has since left for the Eagles. The offense has been successful even without a stout receiver room since the departure of Tyreek Hill, but as a result the team has been increasingly reliant on their defense over the past three seasons. With that unit taking a step back last year and numerous contributors leaving the team, the Chiefs don’t have enough players to rely on outside of Mahomes at large.

The Chiefs have been enormously successful in the Mahomes era. They’ve gotten to the point where it’s time to seriously re-tool the roster again. Though it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if the front office took another season or two to build out the team before returning to the playoffs, the expectation will be the Lombardi trophy as long as Mahomes is at the helm.

On the bright side for Kansas City, its 1–9 record in one-score games last season should regress to the mean in a positive way. Mahomes appears on track to be back for Week 1 from a torn ACL, and even if he isn’t, Reid believes they can win games with backup Justin Fields.

A lot is riding on the upcoming draft for the Chiefs to be able to reshape their roster for the next phase in the Mahomes era. The Chiefs have Mahomes, but several teams in the league and their own division have better overall rosters. It’s time for the Chiefs to catch up and build a roster Mahomes can excel with again.

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