Mike Danna 'Grateful and Very Fortunate' in Return to KC Chiefs in Free Agency
After experiencing free agency for the first time, Danna is excited to be back where everything started and pursue another championship.
The Kansas City Chiefs strayed a bit from their usual method of operation when they signed defensive end Mike Danna to a multiyear contract. The move made a ton of sense, yet it still signaled a serious belief from the team in its 2020 draft pick.
As it turns out, Danna seems to be just as big of a fan of the Chiefs as they are of him.
Now back on his lucrative three-year deal and with free agency in the books, Danna officially signed on Wednesday morning. Speaking to local media, the former fifth-round selection detailed his early-offseason process that entailed "a little bit of everything." He's glad to be a Chief again, and he's also proud that his work did the talking and everything paid off in the end.
“Man, it’s a blessing,” Danna said. “I’m very grateful and very fortunate to be a part of this organization again. It feels great, man. Just kind of betting on myself all these years and letting my play do the talking and being a person who kind of just leads by example and just being a hard worker. That’s all I am, and that’s all I want to be known as. Just a grinder. I’m so glad to be back.”
To say Danna has lived up to his draft slot would be an understatement. The former Michigan man has 17 sacks, in addition to 128 tackles (17 for loss) and 39 quarterback hits since entering the league. In 59 games during the regular season, he's logged over 2,000 snaps for Steve Spagnuolo's defense and factored into multiple championship runs.
With fellow defensive end Charles Omenihu missing time at various points in the year, Danna played more in 2023-24 than he ever had before. The slow-burning progress of rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah also played a role in that unfolding. Danna was on the field for 74% of defensive reps in the games he played last season. He maintained a starter-level workload during the postseason, helping bring the Chiefs a second Super Bowl ring in a row.
Danna went through plenty of emotions during free agency, although he kept coming back to one thing: winning. As he knows so well, there's no better place to do that right now than Kansas City.
“I kind of prioritize winning,” Danna said. “The family I’ve built here, my brotherhood. Just being here, I look forward to going to work every day. When you’ve got that feeling, you don’t really want to let it go. There’s always elsewhere, but I had a lot of stuff invested here. A lot of work, a lot of grind, a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Why not go for a three-peat? Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of this journey? I prioritize winning, man. There’s no organization right now that’s like this, and that was my biggest thing. Prioritize winning and my brotherhood I’ve built here. It feels so good to be back.”
It's simultaneously been a slow and busy offseason for the Chiefs. The club has made a good handful of external acquisitions and moves, including shipping star cornerback L'Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans. The theme of the last month-plus, though, has been retaining as many in-house players as possible. Danna is just one member of a long list that includes players on both sides of the ball.
With Danna back in the fold, everyone's focus remains on doing what no NFL club has ever accomplished. Capping off this current run of quality play with a three-peat of championships would put the Chiefs on a level of their very own. That's factored into personnel decisions since free agency began, and especially the development of Danna returning.
Not signing until 10 days into April, Danna is one of the last members of 2023's crew to re-up on a new deal. He had a feeling this would be his destination, however, and ring talk with his teammates is alive and well.
“We’ve had a few conversations,” Danna said. “As soon as I saw that they brought a majority of the guys back, that put a smile on my face and I knew it was probably just a matter of time, you know? It’s great to see them bringing everybody back. It’s going to be interesting to see the next couple of months, the season and if we can do it again. I’m excited."
