Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Each week, watch for your opportunity to submit your Kansas City Chiefs questions in The Feed, which is found on AP’s home page.

After blanking an opponent for the first time since the 2015 postseason with Sunday’s 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, let’s see what is on our readers’ minds.

Will the Chiefs make a trade adding to the defensive line this week? Defensive tackle was a huge need before. With Omarr-Norman-Lott going down, it’s now s pretty much a certainty.

After the rookie defensive tackle suffered his season-ending ACL tear on Sunday, there were many questions about his position. It was already (arguably) the spot with the least depth. Defensive tackle should now top the Chiefs’ wish list.

Presumably, Kansas City will call up one of its three defensive tackles from the practice squad for Monday. Veteran Marlon Tuipulotu drew the elevation in the two games Norman-Lott previously missed (Weeks 1 and 5). I suspect the Chiefs will use his third and final elevation on Monday. Whether he plays significantly more than the six defensive snaps he saw in his last appearance may reveal if he has a shot at a permanent spot on the 53-man roster.

As for the other in-house options, the Chiefs should want to see what they have in Zacch Pickens and Brodrick Martin — the 64th and 96th overall selections of the 2023 NFL Draft, respectively.

As this writing, Kansas City has not made a defensive line trade — though playing “Monday Night Football” in Week 8 provides an extra day to make moves before the practice week begins. I suspect an addition will be made, but the trade deadline is still almost two weeks away — and the league’s parity means few teams are yet in position to be definite sellers.

While I’ll refrain from speculating on specific players, I do expect Kansas City will acquire an older player from a disappointing team who is on an expiring contract. I would be surprised if the Chiefs took on significant salary before next offseason.

Everyone wants this or that defensive lineman, running back or maybe cornerback. But here’s the real question: how are the Chiefs going to handle the cap issues staring them in the face for next year? What can they realistically do to put themselves in a position to continue the success they’ve enjoyed?

Right now, the salary cap stands in the way of any roster upgrade. After moving Norman-Lott to injured reserve and signing cornerback Kevin Knowles, we now estimate the Chiefs have $3.5 million in cap space. The team’s best options for creating more room would be to restructure tackle Jawaan Taylor’s contract or add void years to Travis Kelce’s. Either move would push money into the 2026 salary cap. As it stands, Kansas City will begin next offseason roughly $30 million over the limit with only 35 players under contract.

Obviously, this means that some players with large non-guaranteed 2026 salaries will be released (or have their compensation significantly reduced).

The front office is likely already exploring ways to reduce Patrick Mahomes’ currently scheduled $78 million cap hit for 2026. Don’t be surprised if that’s accomplished through a complete contract restructure. Chris Jones’ 2026 cap number of nearly $45 million will also be a popular target for armchair GMs, but the team may be wise to let that contract ride through his age-33 season. Doing so maintains maximum flexibility with the two non-guaranteed years that follow in 2027 and 2028.

Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame asks:

Now that Rashee Rice is back, is Xavier Worthy really just the No. 3 or No. 4 receiver? Worthy’s speed, good-and-improving tracking ability, ability to make contested catches, running ability, etc., gives him more versatility overall than Rice. It seems like Rice and Worhty should be 1A and 1B — and almost interchangeable. Am I completely misreading Worthy’s value and ability?

And yes… my question is fantasy football related…

I say this as a fellow Worthy owner in fantasy: I would be trending down on any Chiefs’ weapon not named “Rice,” because I think Sunday’s passing attack (with nine players recording catches) should be what we expect moving forward. I’m not sure Mahomes has ever been able to spread the ball around as he did on Sunday. Against an aging Washington Commanders defense, I expect a similar game plan on Monday.

Mahomes and Worthy have done some great things — and will continue to put up highlights. The cerebral connection the quarterback has with Rice, however, is simply on a different level. After they connected for two touchdowns and a no-look pass, you never would have known that Sunday was their first game together in almost 13 months. Also: Rice’s skillset lends itself to any game situation, while Worthy’s deep speed is less useful when playing from ahead. That’s where the Chiefs have been in the past two games — and where they are likely to be most of the time.

Unfortunately, Worthy’s lingering shoulder injury may put a cap on how much progress he can really show in his second season. For a moment on Sunday, there was legitimate panic that he had badly re-aggravated the ailment. While he returned for Kansas City’s next drive, the team might not be as fortunate the next time.

Chiefs Blitz asks (via X):

Do you think Jalen Royals will get any offensive playing time this season? Or now that the wideout room is healthy, will he be used strictly on special teams?

Chiefs fans who are frustrated by Royals’ lack of action should probably remember that selecting a wide receiver in the fourth round — and then not needing him because the rest of the room performs so well — is a problem other fan bases actually envy.

Initially, it looked like Royals would be needed to compensate for Rice’s suspension. What no one anticipated, however, was that JuJu Smith-Schuster would play well enough to keep the rookie off the field during the season’s first six weeks.

Provided the receivers stay healthy, there really isn’t an opening for Royals to carve out an offensive role. But with rookie running back Brashard Smith justifying an increased offensive role, Royals might start seeing more kick-returning opportunities, where his solid speed and quick moves could make him a special teams weapon while he waits for his turn with the offense.

Still, Smith-Schuster, Hollywood Brown and Tyquan Thornton will hit free agency in 2026. So down the stretch, Royals will be schemed into occasional action so the staff has some game film to evaluate. But right now, the Chiefs have five wide receivers playing at a high level. While that’s true, it’s likely the Utah State product will just have to wait his turn.

Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Keep watching The Feed for a chance to ask your questions.