A Chiefs-Steelers trade to give former first-round pick one last chance

We're more than a couple of weeks into NFL free agency and the thralls of the offseason at this point. And to say that it's been quite eventful for both the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers would be an understatement.

On the part of the Chiefs, they were faced with two defensive stars, DT Chris Jones and CB L'Jarius Sneed, hitting free agency. They sorted that out, however, by re-signing Jones to a five-year, $158.3 million contract before later trading Sneed to the Tennessee Titans. Additionally, the club also brought in Marquise Brown to immediately improve a devastatingly bad wide receiver corps.

Then there's the Steelers, a club that signed Russell Wilson, traded former first-round pick Kenny Pickett, traded away Diontae Johnson, and brought in former first-round QB Justin Fields, among other moves. It's been a torrid offseason in the Steel City, to say the least.

But there's actually still one move that the Chiefs and Steelers could make, a trade to be specific, that could serve both parties quite well.

A Chiefs-Steelers trade that sends Kadarius Toney to Pittsburgh

Brown coming to Kansas City serves as a huge upgrade to the Chiefs receiver room, a position group that includes former Giants first-round pick Kadarius Toney. Toney came to the now-back-to-back Super Bowl champs in a low-cost trade but proved to not be worth it. His mental lapses, drops, and so on marred the obvious and electric talent of the Florida Gators product.

The Chiefs are now in a position wherein they could save more than $2 million by trading Toney. That's also money they would have to eat as dead cap if they were to cut the receiver. But as a former first-round pick with truly special physical tools, perhaps a trip to the NFL's wide receiver factory, the Steelers, could revitalize his still-young career.

And it just so happens that the Steelers also direly need wide receiver depth after trading away Diontae Johnson, leaving George Pickens as the only semi-proven option on the roster. Even better, Kansas City's desire to rid themselves of a headache could make the cost insanely cheap for Pittsburgh.

Here's what a potential Chiefs-Steelers trade sending Kadarius Toney to Pittsburgh could look like.

Again, the Chiefs are surely looking to simply get cap savings and Toney out of the building in any potential trade. Thus, something as minor as an early Day 3 pick swap in the 2025 NFL Draft should be more than enough for the Steelers to be able to roll the dice with Toney.

For the Steelers, it would be an extremely low-risk investment. They only move back from the fourth round to the fifth round in next year's draft, and would have the opportunity to add Toney to Pickens, Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson, the latter two being flier free agent signings this offseason.

Mike Tomlin has been phenomenal at managing challenging personalities throughout his career, so if there's any team that could potentially get the best out of Toney, it would be him and Pittsburgh. And at this cost, it would be hard to turn down. Then with the Chiefs, it would give them more room to fully reset the receiving corps as they move toward their pursuit of a Super Bowl three-peat.

Win-win, anyone?