The Kansas City Chiefs reacted quickly following Tyreek Hill’s trade: the Chiefs agreed on a contract with ex-Packers receiver and free agent Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Valdes-Scantling signs with Kansas City for three years and up to $30 million. The deal can even be worth $36 million via bonus payments, and the 27-year-old is guaranteed $18 million.
The Chiefs traded star receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins in Miami on Wednesday – ending an era. For Kansas City it is now a matter of building an offense without one of the most dangerous receivers in the league for the first time in the Mahomes era.
At the same time, however, it is also an opportunity for a small offensive restart: Defenses had adjusted specifically to the Chiefs offense over the past few years, which made it increasingly difficult for Kansas City to act with the usual high level of efficiency. The commitments of JuJu Smith-Schuster as underneath possession receiver and Valdes-Scantling as outside speedster now also represent a changed offense.
Valdes-Scantling, who has averaged 17.5 yards per catch since coming into the league in 2018, is a clear outside receiver while Hill has been primarily in the slot. That might straighten the field out a bit for the Chiefs. Also, both Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling are willing run-blockers. For coach Andy Reid, there might be more options to make the offense more difficult to calculate.