There have been a bunch of moves by the Kansas City Chiefs since free agency opened in March. Some were praised, like the addition of running back Kenneth Walker in free agency. They also brought back tight end Travis Kelce and added Alohi Gilman to help fill in the gap made by Bryan Cook's departure.
The Chiefs also lost Jaylen Watson to the Los Angeles Rams after they shipped Trent McDuffie to the Rams in exchange for four draft picks, including the 29th overall pick in the 2026 draft. While Kansas City has experienced several losses, the worst move of the month has to be letting linebacker Leo Chenal walk in free agency.
Chiefs Letting Leo Chenal Walk Was Worst Move by Team in March
Chenal signed a three-year, $24 million deal with the Washington Commanders, including $12.4 million guaranteed. Although he wasn't a full-time player with the Chiefs, his arrow is certainly trending up. In 65 games (44 starts), Chenal has logged 218 total tackles, 17 TFLs, 16 QB hits, six pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and seven sacks.
During the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he played in 41 percent of defensive snaps. In 2025, that number jumped to a career-high 53 percent. While Kansas City used him in a specific way, Washington believes he could use a bigger role, and the Chiefs letting him walk wasn't the best choice, especially at that price.
On March 12, it was announced that Kansas City restructured linebacker Drue Tranquill's contract, bringing his cap hit down from $6 million to $3.5 million with $3 million guaranteed. That move saved Kansas City $2.5 million and allowed him to stay in town rather than being a cap casualty. But instead of doing that, the Chiefs should have just released him to save $6 million and used that money toward Chenal's new deal since he got $8.5 million AAV.
Tranquill has been leaned on by the defensive staff, playing in at least 79 percent of the defensive snaps over the last two seasons. And while he's been solid, he's set to turn 31 years old in August, and his best days could be behind him. Meanwhile, Chenal is 25 years old and entering his prime. The Chiefs should have taken the chance on his continued development and used the money from Tranquill to re-sign Chenal. In addition, the advanced metrics on Pro Football Focus are favorable to Chenal.
Season | Leo Chenal |
|---|---|
2023 | Overall Grade (84.0), Coverage Grade (61.1), Run-Defense Grade (90.6) |
2024 | Overall Grade (81.5), Coverage Grade (69.6), Run-Defense Grade (90.1) |
2025 | Overall Grade (75.1), Coverage Grade (72.6), Run-Defense Grade (76.2) |
Season | Drue Tranquill |
|---|---|
2023 | Overall Grade (68.4), Coverage Grade (66.9), Run-Defense Grade (55.9) |
2024 | Overall Grade (66.5), Coverage Grade (60.0), Run-Defense Grade (67.5) |
2025 | Overall Grade (76.2), Coverage Grade (61.0), Run-Defense Grade (89.4) |
And of course, these grades aren't end-all, be-all, but they could give an idea of how effective these guys are on a down-to-down basis. It's also worth noting that the Chiefs have Jeffrey Bassa waiting in the wings, who showed some flashes last year and could have been another option to help replace Tranquill.
The Chiefs also have Nick Bolton in the middle, and he'll provide Kansas City with some veteran help experience for this defense at LB. Instead, the Chiefs decided to let Chenal walk for a very reasonable amount. As time goes on, this could be a move that they'll live to regret, especially with how Chenal's trajectory looks.
He didn't get a monster deal, and the Chiefs should have been all over that to bring him back to the KCKingdom. Instead, they brought back a linebacker who'll be 31 in Week 1 and has one more year left on his deal.