Here’s Most Underrated Move for Chiefs So Far

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It was pocket change, by salary-cap standards – a measly $2.5 million.

Two weeks ago, Drue Tranquill was thinking about finding a new home. A few days later, he was recruiting former Notre Dame and Chargers teammate Alohi Gilman to sign with the Chiefs.

Translation: Tranquill isn’t going anywhere.

A new contract

Set to count $7.5 million against the Chiefs’ salary cap, he joined Mike Danna and Jawaan Taylor on the team’s list of potential cap casualties. But the linebacker and his team had other ideas. Per insider Mike Garafolo, this week they agreed to a revised one-year, $3.5 million contract that guarantees Tranquill $2.995 million.

Tranquill, who turns 31 in August, lowered his 2026 cap hit to $5 million. The Chiefs will set aside that $2.5 million to help with draft picks, a drop in their $301.2 million overall bucket.

LB Drue Tranquill signed a 1 year, $3.5M restructured contract with the #Chiefs that includes $2.95M fully guaranteed.

The move lowers his cap hit to $5M, clearing $2.5M of 2026 space.

More:https://t.co/i08Hwm5Puf
— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 13, 2026

Why it's the most underrated move

The cap savings isn’t why Tranquill’s new contract was the Chiefs’ most underrated move so far this offseason. The most underrated move was the effort to keep him in Kansas City.

Kansas City already lost one third of its starting linebackers when Leo Chenal signed a three-year, $24.75 million deal with Washington this week. The Chiefs couldn’t afford to lose two thirds. As of now, their 11-man starting lineup on defense figures to have at least six new starters. It would've been seven without Tranquill.

tranquill chena — Jul 22, 2025; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs linebackers Jack Cochrane (43) and Cole Christiansen (48) and Drue Tranquill (23) and Leo Chenal (54)down the hill to the fields during training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Now, Tranquill can help Nick Bolton mentor Jeffrey Bassa. How Bassa develops in his second NFL season, likely as a replacement for Chenal at outside linebacker, will be critical to the Chiefs’ defense in 2026.

And with four players leaving the Chiefs’ secondary in free agency, the Chiefs would’ve been in dire straights without Tranquill. They also wouldn’t have had Gilman to fill a major hole in the back of their defense.

gilman, tranquil — Dec 29, 2018; Arlington, TX, United States; Clemson Tigers running back Travis Etienne (9) runs between Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Alohi Gilman (11) and linebacker Drue Tranquill (23) in the first half in the 2018 Cotton Bowl college football playoff semifinal game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

“Yeah, Drue’s my guy,” Gilman said Thursday after joining the Chiefs. “He's been recruiting me hard here. That's my third agent. So, Drue’s been doing his thing. I've had good conversations with him, obviously, over the years. Played with him at Notre Dame, at the Chargers; crossed over as well.

“So much respect for him as a warrior, as a player, as a teammate, just as a friend. So, got a lot of respect for him. That's my guy. I’ll go to war with him any day. Excited to strap it up with him.”

The Chiefs are excited that Tranquill will still be strapping it up in Kansas City. That’s because one of the players they lost in free agency this week, starting safety Bryan Cook, was one of their best tacklers.

Tranquill was one of the NFL’s best-tackling linebackers in 2025. Per Pro Football Focus, he had only four missed tackles. That marked the second fewest among 88 linebackers across the league.