Rashod Bateman The Latest To Be Named A KC Trade Target

As Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season prepares to kick off in Baltimore on Thursday night, where the Ravens will host the Jacksonville Jaguars, the home team finds itself at a crossroads.

Standing at 4-4, the Ravens will start undrafted rookie quarterback Joe Fagnono at quarterback after starter Lamar Jackson and prime backup Tyler Hundley were lost for the season in last Sunday's 36-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

In an act of desperation, the Ravens traded for Arizona Cardinals' signal-caller Jacoby Brissett on Tuesday, but the 11-year veteran will likely not be ready for action yet and, to be honest, he has not been the long-term answer at QB for any of the six franchises he has toiled for.

Couple in the fact that the Ravens sit last in the NFC North and it's easy to see why their playoff odds stand at 12%, according to one source, even before they face the 5-2 Jaguars.

It's also easy to see why a rebuild or, at the least, a retooling may be in the offing in Charm City, which turns up the heat on trade speculation regarding who may be most likely to depart before the NFL's rapidly approaching Nov. 10 trade deadline.

In case you haven't heard - and if you haven't, you live in a WiFi-less cave - the Kansas City Chiefs appear to be in the market for some help at the wide receiver position.

So, that confluence of Chiefs' need and the chance that the Ravens imminently make everyone and everything but the office furniture available, has added a new name to the Chiefs WR shopping list: Baltimore's sixth-year wideout Rashod Bateman.

Writing for Arrowhead Addict on Wednesday, Leigh Oleszczak threw Bateman's name into the trade helmet, saying, "Chiefs fans can talk about trying to get [the New York Jets'] Garrett Wilson all they want but that is not going to happen. A more realistic name, however, could be Rashod Bateman of the Baltimore Ravens. Even before Jackson's most recent injury, Bateman has been identified as a potentially available player."

The question before a trade for any player at any position is always, "Is the juice worth the squeeze?" and in Bateman's case, that is up for debate.

He has had some highlight-reel games in his career, including the seven-catch, 88-yard, one-touchdown gem he fashioned in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints.

But for every game like that, or the four-grab, 121-yard, one-score highlight reel he put together against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024, there are at least a half-dozen performances that more closely resemble one or two catches for 22, 37, 46 or 62 yards, four of which fit that category in his eight games this season.

This season, Bateman has 19 catches (2.4 per game) for 288 yards (36 yards per game) with a 15.2-yard average per catch and one touchdown. Those numbers are eerily similar to his career numbers of 2.5 catches and 33.5 yards per game and 15.5 yards per catch.

The Chiefs will need to decide if those numbers are worth a Day 3 draft pick, and if they think they will be able to unlock another level of production in Bateman.

There is also the potentially mitigating factor that in June Bateman allegedly smashed the windows of his child's mother's car while their three-month-old was inside. While no punishment has been handed down by the league, and it's unknown if any will actually be forthcoming, this situation has to factor into the calculus of whether or not acquiring Bateman will be a net-positive for the Chiefs.

For what it's worth, the Chiefs have indicated recently that they will not shy away from players with so-called "character issues" via the signing of former Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker, who was released by the Ravens in May 2025 amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving massage therapists.