3 moves Chiefs and Raiders must make to counter Russell Wilson trade

Russell Wilson trade: What moves must the Kansas City Chiefs make now?

For the Chiefs to remain on top in the AFC West and keep the surging Broncos at bay, they need to do these three things: Free up precious cap space, re-sign key defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Charvarius Ward and pursue a top-tier wide receiver in free agency, someone like Amari Cooper if he is released or Allen Robinson if he does not go return to the Chicago Bears once again.

Simply put, the Chiefs are not going to be able to do much of anything to address the elephant in the division if they do not address the elephant in the room: They need cap space. Since general manager Brett Veach is a salary cap wizards this may not be that big of an issue. To free up space, look for the Chiefs to come to a decision about Frank Clark and possibly look to extend Tyreek Hill.

That freed up capital will go towards keeping Mathieu on the Chiefs, and potentially Ward if Veach wants to go in the direction. From there, Kansas City could use some more offensive firepower to keep pace with what should be a much-improved Broncos offense. Cooper may be the top target to pursue, but players like Robinson and JuJu Smith-Schuster could slot into what they are doing.

Now let’s take a look at what the Raiders will need to do to prevent being overtaken by Denver.