Why Chiefs Weren’t Able to Pull Off Deadline Trade Tuesday

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Brett Veach has consummated plenty of mid-season deals in recent years – two before the deadline last year alone. The league office didn’t get any official paperwork on Tuesday, however.

Seven trades went down across the league Tuesday – some of which redefined blockbuster – but Kansas City wasn’t among the trading teams.

The Chiefs’ general manager was assertive on draft weekend in April, and assertive before trade deadlines in recent years, but wasn’t interested in the asking price.

Chiefs were working phones

Speaking before the Chiefs’ Oct. 27 win over Washington, chairman and CEO Clark Hunt seemed to indicate defensive line was an area the team was pursuing after losing second-round selection Omarr Norman-Lott to a season-ending knee injury.

“Brett Veach has historically been pretty aggressive at the trade deadline,” Hunt said. “If he feels like we have a need, he’s not shy about addressing it. And I think that’ll be true again this year. Obviously, an important part of it is where you stand from an injury standpoint.

“We’ve been pretty fortunate up to this point. We were sad to lose (Omarr) Norman-Lott last week, and that definitely hurt us on the defensive line.”

Ironically, the Chiefs that night lost starting running back Isiah Pacheco to a knee injury, sidelining him for Sunday’s loss against the Bills. Some thought that injury would place the Chiefs squarely in the buyer’s market for running backs, but Veach wasn’t desperate. Tracy Wolfson reported Sunday morning that Pacheco’s injury is short-term, not long-term.

Head coach Andy Reid said last week Veach and his staff were hard at work.

“Yeah, Brett does all that,” Reid said, “and then if he gets to a point where something's up and he feels comfortable about it, then he hits me up on it. But he takes care of all that. I mean, you know how Brett’s wired. So, he's looking for people that can make us better. So, that's how he goes about it.”

Two to tango

And the two-tango prerequisite for any trade might’ve been too rich for the Chiefs’ red and gold blood.

The Jets’ asking price for Breece Hall is a third-round pick, per source.

Teams have yet to meet New York’s ask with just over an hour to go until the deadline.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) November 4, 2025

Insider Dianna Russini reported the Jets wanted a third-rounder for running back Breece Hall. While Hall has three 100-yard games this season for the 1-7 Jets, he’s also not as successful on a per-carry basis as Pacheco.

Per ProFootballReference.com, Hall has a 45.2-percent rushing success rate over his career, and 50.4 in 2025. Pacheco, who like Hall also entered the league in the 2022 draft, has a 54.3 career success rate and 59.0 mark this season.

breece hall, derrick nnad — East Rutherford, NJ October 1, 2023 Derrick Nnadi of the Chiefs and Breece Hall of the Jets in the first half. The New York Jets host the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on October 1, 2023. | Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Rushing success rate is defined as percentage of carries that gain at least 40 percent of the yards to go on first down, at least 60 percent of the yards needed on second down and 100 percent of the yards to go on third or fourth down (converting the first down or scoring).

The Chiefs did their homework in 2022 on Hall coming out, as did every team, and obviously weren’t willing to pay the Jets’ price.

The Jets have been looking for a second-round pick for Jermaine Johnson, and a third-round pick for Breece Hall ... We'll see if they get either price.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 4, 2025

And at defensive line, apparently teams were asking too much there, too. Keep in mind that the Chiefs’ 2026 draft capital is somewhat limited.

2026 draft capital

As of now, before compensatory awards in March, the Chiefs have only five selections in April: Their own picks in Rounds 1-3, Chicago’s fourth-round selection (in the Joe Thuney trade) and their own pick in the fifth.

joe thuney — Oct 13, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney (62) celebrates while leaving the field after the game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Per OvertheCap.com, the Chiefs are due a compensatory selection at the end of Round 5. Compensatory picks are awarded using a formula that measures net losses in the prior offseason’s unrestricted free agency, and the Saints signing safety Justin Reid will likely lead to that fifth-rounder.

But the Chiefs traded their sixth-rounder to New England as part of the Josh Uche trade. Their seventh-rounder is believed to have gone to Dallas as a condition of the trade for Peyton Hendershot in August 2024.

justin reid, blake coru — Nov 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum (22) carries the ball as New Orleans Saints safety Justin Reid (21) defends during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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