Chiefs trade idea lands $9 million Lions record-setting TE to help Patrick Mahomes

Chiefs trade idea lands $9 million Lions record-setting TE to help Patrick Mahomes originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . While it’s pivotal for NFL franchises to focus on the present, they must also plan for the foreseeable future by making moves that would put them in good shape for years to come.

In a recent mock trade crafted by Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano , the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs would do just that by swapping first-round picks with the Detroit Lions and sending a 2027 conditional fourth-round pick to Detroit for a record-setting tight end (he set the rookie TE postseason receiving record in 2023 with 176 yards). “Yes, the Chiefs just re-signed Travis Kelce, who is still an effective player and one of Patrick Mahomes’ favorite receivers,” Vacchiano wrote Friday. “But Kelce is 36, not what he once was, and could be in the last season of his Hall of Fame career.

” “LaPorta is coming off back surgery, heading into the last year of his contract, and may get squeezed out in Detroit, where the Lions have a lot of young players to sign. It would probably cost the Chiefs a second-round pick. As an alternative, they could consider a package that involves swapping first-rounders instead.

” Adding LaPorta to the equation would provide Mahomes with much-needed comfort from a quarterback-tight end connection standpoint. As Vacchiano noted, Kelce, who’s been Mahomes’ security blanket for nearly a decade, won’t be in the NFL forever, making it necessary for Kansas City to identify a high-level replacement for the future Hall of Famer sooner rather than later. LaPorta undoubtedly fits the bill, as he understands the importance of being an elite YAC weapon, using his underrated elusiveness and route-running to give Jared Goff a clear passing target, routinely makes challenging catches in traffic, and can block with the best of them.