COSTA MESA, Calif. -- The Kansas City Chiefs are off to a curious start in building their team to defend last year’s AFC West title.

Earlier this month the Chiefs traded Pro Bowl quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins, a transaction that will not become official until the start of free agency and the league's new year on March 14.

I offered after the trade that the Chargers were likely happy to see the start of the Patrick Mahomes era and Smith moving on after losing eight straight games to Kansas City.

Well, the Chiefs traded yet another Pro Bowl player on Friday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Kansas City moved mercurial cornerback Marcus Peters to the Los Angeles Rams. Like the Smith deal with Washington, the Peters trade is not official until March 14.

However, the Chargers have to be thanking the Chiefs for moving yet another player that has been a thorn in the Bolts’ side.

Peters has 19 interceptions in his first three NFL seasons and was named first-team All-Pro in 2016, the second of back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances.

Specifically, Peters had four interceptions in six games against the Chargers --- all wins.

Quarterback Philip Rivers has struggled against the Chiefs during an eight-game losing streak against Kansas City, with just six touchdown passes and 13 interceptions.

“He’s a really good corner,” Rivers said before his team’s second matchup against the Chiefs last season. “He’s a dangerous corner. You categorize different corners in different ways. Some are just so textbook. They play their assignment and it’s tough to get completions on them.

“And then there’s others -- and I put him in this category -- that are dangerous and you’re just not sure what they are going to do. He may give you a 10-yard completion, and then he may intercept the next one for a touchdown. That’s what makes him so hard to predict. He’s very unpredictable and very smart in the way he reads things. He's certainly a guy you have to be careful with.”