The Kansas City Chiefs have a new No. 88 in the building after trading for Dallas Cowboys TE Peyton Hendershot during 53-man roster cuts . While the move to acquire Arizona Cardinals DE Cameron Thomas wasn't terribly surprising, this trade caught the Chiefs Kingdom off guard.
Why did the Chiefs send a conditional pick to the Cowboys for Hendershot? Well, it all has to do with how the team looks to round out the bottom of their roster.
"Well, I think when you get to the final touches of a 53-man roster, I think you're looking for special teams," Chiefs GM Brett Veach told reporters on Thursday. "I think (Peyton) Hendershot's played tons special teams reps there. So, if you don't get it all the time from that running back position, you have to get it from somewhere else. And we have a good linebacking core, it would be good to do more at that tight end position (on special teams)."
Only new Chiefs RB Samaje Perine and UDFA Carson Steele are slated to play special teams this year, so it's a bit of a numbers game. Hendershot has over 400 career special teams snaps, far more than he's played on offense over the past two seasons in Dallas. The reason that the Chiefs are looking for special teams help from a tight end is far more interesting.
The Chiefs have big plans for TE Noah Gray in 2024
Chiefs GM Brett Veach spilled the beans on some big plans for fourth-year tight end Noah Gray. The former Duke Blue Devil is due for an expanded role on offense heading into this year according to Veach. Acquiring a player like Hendershot allows the Chiefs to reduce his snaps on special teams and increase his workload on the offensive side of the ball.
"It'd also be good to take Noah (Gray) off some of those things," Veach explained. "I think Noah continues to get better, and he's a guy that I think we want to feature a little bit more this year. So knowing that it's good to have the ability to take him off some of those, some of those special teams."
Over the past three seasons, Gray has been used on offense sparingly. He has just 63 receptions of 640 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season during his career. In each of 2022 and 2023, Gray played 60% or more of the team's special teams snaps, but he's never played more than 52% of the team's offensive snaps in a given season. Gray has also never caught more than 28 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns in a single season.
An expanded role on offense that leads to more production, wouldn't just be a good move for the Chiefs, but it'd be a savvy move for Gray. He enters a contract year in 2024 and will be vying for a new contract in Kansas City or elsewhere as a free agent.
Related: The latest updates on Chiefs WR Rashee Rice aren't bringing him any closer to a possible suspension
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