A former Kansas City Chiefs receiver seems to have taken his trade departure a bit personally after the team's Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos.
The Chiefs traded preseason standout Ihmir Smith-Marsette to the Carolina Panthers ahead of the 2023 NFL season. At the time, it looked like the correct move with Kansas City having too many cooks in the kitchen at the wide receiver position.
Following the final preseason game, I noted that Smith-Marsette finished the three-game campaign as the team's highest-graded wide receiver at Pro Football Focus. I shared that info on the app formerly known as Twitter and added that Smith-Marsette recorded nine receptions on 10 targets for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
After Sunday's loss in Denver, Smith-Marsette decided to repost that for everyone to see.
Now, it's hard to discern intentions from social media posts. However, this wasn't the only Chiefs-related item Smith-Marsette reposted. Would he be sharing these things if his former team hadn't just lost and their wide receivers weren't at the center of the discussion? It seems unlikely. That said, this might not entirely be about the K.C. for Smith-Marsette.
His role with the Panthers this season has been reduced to special teams, possibly because he joined the team at 53-man roster cuts, and he didn't really have a chance to establish himself before the season began. He has 13 punt returns on the season for a grand total of 85 yards. He has a special teams tackle as well. On offense, he has 13 snaps, no targets, and no receptions.
Maybe Smith-Marsette hopes Brett Veach could pull off a Mecole Hardman-like trade and bring him back to Kansas City?
Mostly, this whole thing just reminds frustrated fans of the road not traveled, and the potential for what could have been. Perhaps keeping Smith-Marsette would have solved some of the Chiefs' problems, but ultimately we'll never know if he could have helped in Week 8 or at any junctures so far this season.
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