6 Kansas City Chiefs backup plans at wide receiver with Mike Evans not available

4. DeAndre Hopkins could be back on Chiefs radar via trade

It was last offseason that Kansas City Chiefs were long considered the pipe-dream option for DeAndre Hopkins as the veteran wideout hit the open market. It indeed was a bit of a far-fetched option as the longtime Texans and Cardinals pass-catcher ultimately ended up signing with the Tennessee Titans on a two-year, $26 million deal.

Despite inconsistent quarterback play and injuries at that position with the Titans, Hopkins proved that he has plenty left in the tank at 31 years old, posting his best season since 2020 with 75 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns.

The sad truth in Tennessee, however, is that the franchise is not built to compete right now. Will Levis might be the quarterback of the future, but the jury's still out there. Meanwhile, the rest of the roster requires a lot of work to be rebuilt. As such, this isn't a team that really has a need for Hopkins, so rather than cutting him for nothing, they could try to orchestrate a trade for a Day 3 pick, which is a market the Chiefs should be all over.

Hopkins isn't going to be a field-stretcher with his speed at this point in his career, but he continues to prove that he's still a ball-winner and has improved as a veteran route-runner in recent years. More importantly, he's reliable as a pass-catcher and could be a nice addition to the offense in Kansas City, a unit that simply lacked the consistency that D-Hop would provide at a reasonable trade and salary price.