The Kansas City Chiefs are not messing around as the deadline for cutting their offseason roster down to 53 players looms this Sunday. General Manager Brett Veach is absolutely tearing up the trade market, pulling off deals like it’s nobody’s business. After already snagging an offensive lineman from the New York Giants earlier this week, Saturday evening saw another big move go down.
According to the always-connected Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Chiefs just swung a trade with the Baltimore Ravens to pick up rookie offensive tackle Diego Pounds. This guy is an undrafted free agent from Ole Miss who signed with Baltimore right after the 2026 NFL Draft. Think about that: undrafted just a few months ago, and now he’s heading to a team making serious waves on the trade market. Pounds brings some serious size to the line, too. At the NFL Scouting Combine back in March, he clocked in at 6 feet 6 inches tall and a hefty 325 pounds. His arm length measured 33 3/4 inches, with hands at 9 3/4 inches, all the physical tools you want in a tackle.
What really makes this trade interesting is Pounds’ college history. He played four full seasons, starting his college career at North Carolina before finishing up his final two years at Ole Miss. And during all that time, he was almost exclusively a left tackle. Seriously, the dude racked up 2,561 snaps at left tackle compared to just one measly snap at left guard. That’s a dedicated specialist right there! He continued that trend in the preseason with the Ravens, lining up 58 times at left tackle over three games. Even better, over 26 pass-blocking snaps, Pounds allowed absolutely no pressure. Zero. That’s a clean sheet, folks, and it tells you everything you need to know about his immediate impact potential.
This move from Veach, adding a guy with such focused left tackle experience and a clean preseason sheet, absolutely begs the question: What in the world does this mean for the Chiefs’ current starting left tackle, Josh Simmons? With Pounds showing he can handle the position and Veach clearly eager to shore up the offensive line with multiple trades, you have to wonder if a shake-up is on the horizon. The Chiefs are cutting their roster down fast, and this late-game trade could be a sign of things to come for their offensive line configuration as the regular season gets ready to roll.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Arrowhead Pride.
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