This Chiefs-Broncos Trade for Sammy Watkins Could Actually Work

It's no secret the Kansas City Chiefs are tight on cap space, but they're presumably working hard to correct that. They really don't have a choice if they want to be able to sign their impending draft class.

The Chiefs could go in a lot of different directions with this. Kansas City could work with certain players to restructure their contracts, and they could always resort to releasing guys they consider overpaid. There's one contract, however, that could change the whole picture for the Chiefs if they are smart enough to trade it away. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins, for some reason, is Kansas City's highest-paid player, and the Chiefs need to make sure he doesn't become a cap casualty. Lucky for them, the Broncos might be in the market for a wide receiver.

Denver could use help at receiver, and KC can help them, but the return for Watkins isn't likely to be dazzling. The Broncos have 12 picks in the upcoming draft; if they offered the Chiefs one of their fourth-round picks for Watkins while absorbing some of his remaining salary, it would be really hard for Kansas City to reject it.

The Chiefs releasing Watkins would come with a $21 million cap hit (!), so they're absolutely looking to trade him above all else. Because Denver has the leverage in this trade scenario, it wouldn't be hard for them to convince Kansas City to a pay a few million during Watkins' contract year.

If the Chiefs want to stay active this offseason, they'll have to trade Watkins for whatever they can get for him – even if it means being responsible for a portion of his heavy contract.