The Kansas City Chiefs have plundered an AFC West rival in free agency.
According to The Score reporter Jordan Schultz, the Chiefs are signing Los Angeles Chargers free agent LB Drue Tranquill on a one-year deal. A former fourth-round draft pick out of Notre Dame in 2019, Tranquill is coming off of a career year in Los Angeles, finishing the 2022 NFL season with 144 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and four passes defended.
Tranquill’s contract with Kansas City is only for a season and it can earn him up to $5 million according to Schultz.
Breaking: FA LB Drue Tranquill is signing a one-year deal with the #Chiefs, sources tell @theScore.
Tranquill comes off a career-year for the #Chargers, amassing 144 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 4 PBUs.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 17, 2023
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Tranquill is the ideal coverage linebacker prototype in the modern NFL. He’s only 28 years old, so he’s not exactly long in the tooth by NFL standards. The contract would suggest that Kansas City has a role for him of the starting variety. He’ll likely be on the field during the team’s sub-package defenses, which are basically the new base defenses in the NFL.
This is a slightly surprising considering that the Chiefs already have three starting-quality linebackers in Nick Bolton, Willie Gay Jr. and Leo Chenal. This ensures that the team has quality depth at a position of strength. As Brett Veach has mentioned in the past, you can never have too much depth in any one position.
