Kansas City Chiefs GM John Dorsey has heard the rumors - wide receiver/running back/returner/offensive weapon De'Anthony Thomas was involved in trade talks with the San Francisco 49ers this offseason.
The only problem? Dorsey said Tuesday he's never spoken to the Niners about Thomas.
"I have not talked to the 49ers about DeAnthony Thomas," Dorsey said.
Thomas, 23, is an explosive playmaker trapped in a diminutive body that keeps him from becoming one of the NFL's best players, laden with talent though he may be. In Kansas City, Thomas is stuck behind players like Jeremy Maclin, Albert Wilson, Rod Streater and Chris Conley at wide receiver and Jamaal Charles, Charcandrick West, Spencer Ware and Knile Davis at running back.
In short, it wouldn't have been all that surprising to see Dorsey and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid get what they could for a guy in Thomas who had just nine rushing attempts for 34 yards and one touchdown and 17 receptions for 140 yards and another touchdown to his name during a 2015 season that ended when he landed on the non-football injury list after struggling to overcome a November concussion.
Thomas has ample value as a returner, which seems to be enough to keep him in red, but the notion that Dorsey and Reid would look to flip him for value isn't all that crazy.
It does seem to be wrong though.
Elsewhere on the Kansas City roster, the Chiefs are still reeling from the loss of linebacker Justin Houston.
Houston, who was hobbled to some degree late last season and into the playoffs, underwent a surgical procedure that has put some or all of his 2016 in doubt. It's a tough blow for a Chiefs team looking to take the next step from very good to great and still waiting on Dee Ford to show a consistent impact.
Dorsey addressed Houston's status on Tuesday and said that despite the fact that an initial MRI in December showed the ACL to be intact, and then a subsequent MRI in February, after the Chiefs were bounced from the playoffs, revealed structural damage, that Houston did not re-injure his knee.
He also said that the team is confident in their moves to this point, keeping guys like Derrick Johnson, Jaye Howard and Tamba Hali, and that he's now looking forward to the 2016 NFL Draft.
"It was an unfortunate situation, but what we do in this situation is go along with our business," Dorsey said. "Did it alter our plans? No. I mean, we had a plan in place and we stuck to that plan and I think that that plan was a good plan, which was evidence of what transpired in the free-agency period, and now we have a second part of it, which is leading up to the draft."
