The Kansas City Chiefs have done what the Kansas City Chiefs have done a lot of over the past few seasons: re-signed a former Chiefs wide receiver. This time it’s Justin Watson, who almost certainly isn’t the answer to Kansas City’s need for a wide receiver after the Tyquan Thornton injury, but this front office has some vague memory of Watson as an occasional deep threat for Patrick Mahomes, so he’s back.
Kansas City does need to replace Thornton, but Watson isn’t the answer. These moves would make a little more sense.
Bring back JuJu Smith-Schuster
Look, I’m not saying that JuJu Smith-Schuster is the answer for Kansas City. We have plenty of evidence that says he isn’t and that another stint with Smith-Schuster isn’t going to move the needle. With that said, he should rank at least a tiny bit ahead of Watson when it comes to figuring out who to bring back.
Admittedly, Smith-Schuster doesn’t exactly play the same role as Thornton, so he wouldn’t be a one-to-one replacement. Andy Reid would utilize Smith-Schuster more in the short yardage game, something that could free up Xavier Worthy for more deep routes to take advantage of his speed. It’s a boring option, but it brings back someone with extensive experience in this offense, which is why they’re bringing back Watson in the first place.
Of course, there’s a good chance that Smith-Schuster is just washed at this point in his career. If the Chiefs thought he could still contribute, he would already be a Chief, right? Probably. But the upside there is at least marginally higher than Watson.
Trade for Calvin Ridley
The Chiefs probably aren’t trading for a wide receiver. They were one of the first teams reported to not be Marvin Harrison Jr.’s landing spot, and if they weren’t in on that one, would they really be in on a Calvin Ridley trade?
I guess it depends on the cost. Ridley can be had for a lot less than Harrison was, but at the same time, one has to seriously wonder if he has enough left in the tank to actually help the Chiefs out.
The question here is basically if Ridley’s 2026 struggles are his fault or if it’s just that his quarterback is struggling and his team knows he isn’t in the future plans. Five catches for 81 yards would be a solid single game, but that’s Ridley’s 2026 total right now. He’s also fourth among the team’s wide receivers in snaps, though, which seems to be a suggestion that Tennessee is a bad team that is prioritizing its young players. Risky move to trade for him, but it’s one that makes enough sense.
Sign Gabe Davis
Kind of an outside of the box option here, but hear me out. Gabe Davis has experience as a field-stretching outside wide receiver for one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks after playing with Josh Allen in Buffalo. His falloff since leaving Buffalo for Jacksonville is a major red flag, but that shouldn’t preclude the Chiefs from at least kicking the tires here, assuming he’s close to being recovered from his ACL tear in January.
And, like, yeah — the numbers aren’t great here. In six games last season after returning to Buffalo, Davis had just 12 catches for 129 yards. However, he’s not that far removed from his first four seasons in the league, when Davis had 500 or more yards in each season and six or more touchdowns each year.
Would this move reek of desperation? Sure, but so does basically every potential move that the Chiefs can make here. Davis is probably done at the NFL level, and the knee issue is a major barrier, but if he can show in a workout that he’s recovered from that? Well, maybe there’d be something there.
Uhh, I guess sign Tyreek Hill?
Look, it’s inescapable, right? We can’t talk about the Chiefs wide receiver situation without talking about Tyreek Hill, the former Chiefs wide receiver who still remains the best wideout that Mahomes has played with. A healthy Hill is one of the league’s elite deep threats, and the Chiefs could use that player.
There are, of course, some very serious issues that complicate Hill returning to Kansas City. The first is the injury situation, as Hill’s 2025 was cut short by a massive knee injury. We’re talking the ACL and LCL being torn as well as the kneecap being dislocated. It’s very, very possible that Hill can never even approach being the player he once was after that injury.
Then there are the off-field issues. Is Hill good enough to be signed when he’s currently going through a divorce trial that features allegations of domestic abuse? (Note: that’s the question that the Kansas City front office has to answer — my answer is unequivocally “no,” but we’ve seen teams push aside issues with violence against women before and there’s no reason to think they won’t do it again.)
If Kansas City is able to convince itself to ignore the glaring off-field reds flags, then betting on Hill to be 75 percent of his old self is probably a move that increases the team’s on-field ceiling. It’s just a shame for Chiefs fans that that move is accompanied by very valid reasons why Hill shouldn’t be in the NFL.
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