Linebacker Drue Tranquill joined the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent in the 2023 offseason after spending the early portion of his career with the Los Angeles Chargers.
He has never tasted the sweet nectar of playoff victory in the NFL and told reporters on Monday about the obsessively relentless culture he has experienced with the Chiefs through one week of training camp.
“It’s hyper-competitive around here, like winning is absolutely everything,” Tranquill said. “It’s kind of egos aside, winning is the ultimate goal. The picture of that Super Bowl ring is on the start of every single slide of every presentation.
“Whether it’s [Defensive Coordinator] Coach [Steve] Spags [Spagnuolo] saying ‘hey let’s change this up schematically just to try and fool Patrick [Mahomes] to win this day of practice’ like winning is everything to them. You certainly see that with the amount of close games they win on a year in year out basis.”
This dedication to success seems to be a welcome change for Tranquill after his time with the Chargers, who have been aggressively average in recent seasons.