Chiefs Trading WR to 49ers

The trade provides some early clarity to the numbers-game the Chiefs need to solve at wide receiver, with Tuesday’s roster-reduction deadline rapidly approaching. Kansas City has several receivers the team would like to keep, including surprise camp standouts Jason Brownlee and Tyquan Thornton.

One of the most-liked players on the roster, he endeared himself to Andy Reid and the Chiefs as a rookie with a critical 4-yard touchdown reception in Super Bowl 57, extending an important fourth-quarter lead in their 38-35 victory over Philadelphia.

Kansas City also is dealing with the timing and length uncertainty of Rashee Rice’s impending suspension.

Final game with Kansas City

In his final game in a Chiefs uniform, Friday’s preseason contest at Seattle, Moore returned a fourth-quarter punt for an 88-yard touchdown. It was a moment of redemption for Moore, who earlier in the game had dropped two passes and muffed a kickoff return.

“His punt-return ability and kick-return ability has really gotten better over the years,” Chiefs assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Dave Toub said Wednesday. “And it showed right there. I mean, he’s solid there, on that part of it.

“The other part is just the mental, I think, with him, and it’s just about getting over that hump. He’s definitely an NFL player, whether he’s on our team or not on our team. I think the return helped him. He’s a good football player.”

A 5-10, 195-pound player from Western Michigan, Moore struggled to produce in the Chiefs’ offense. In 36 regular-season games over his first three years, he totaled only 43 receptions for 494 yards and one touchdown. Reid said after Friday’s loss at Lumen Field that the drops he had were not like him, and the head coach was proud of how Moore responded with the touchdown return.

“He's a lot better than that,” Reid said Friday. “He had three kind of bobbles and drops, special teams and with throws. Came back with a big play, so, I'm proud of him for that. It wasn't his best night up to that point.”

Moore joined the Chiefs in the second round (54th overall) of the 2022 draft. He was involved in one of several NFL trades on Wednesday as teams shape their season-opening rosters. Moore turns 25 next month.

49ers need him at wide receiver

In addition to his value in the return game, Moore will provide immediate help in the 49ers’ receiver room. San Francisco’s depth at the position, already severely depleted, took another hit earlier Wednesday when the head coach Kyle Shanahan said the NFL has suspended DeMarcus Robinson three games for violating the league’s policy on substances of abuse.