Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi had a 2025 season to forget. Nnadi left last offseason and signed with the New York Jets in free agency, just to be brought back to the Chiefs via trade.
The Chiefs hoped Nnadi would bolster their DT depth and be an instant contributor after being a rotational player in 2024. However, that wasn’t the case, as the Chiefs did not bring the veteran back for another tour of duty. But it didn’t take him long to find a new home, signing a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts.
That being said, going to the Colts might not have been the best move for Nnadi for a multitude of reasons going into this upcoming season. One could argue that if the veteran defensive lineman doesn’t have a bounce-back season, he’ll find himself searching for another one-year deal this time next year.
Ex-Chief Derrick Nnadi Is Already Fighting an Uphill Climb with Colts
The 29-year-old Nnadi, who started in 11 games last season with the Chiefs, will not be a starter in Indianapolis. The starters are Grover Stewart and DeForest Bucker. In fact, Nnadi won’t even be a backup, as the Colts have Adetomiwa Adebawore and then traded for Colby Wooden from the Green Bay Packers.
Wooden is four years younger than Nnadi and offers more as a pass rusher. According to Pro Football, Wooden had a 58.3 pass-rush grade, while Nnadi had a 50.2 pass-rush grade.
Now, Nnadi isn’t a sack artist. His best skill set is as a run stopper, but Nnadi was non-existent against the run for the Chiefs (46.0 grade). When a player isn’t good at the thing that the team wants them for, it puts that player in a tough spot.
Nnadi is in that tough spot as he’s competing for DT3 snaps against his ex-Chiefs teammate, Jerry Tillery, who also signed with the Colts.
Then, to make matters worse for Nnadi, he’s on a Colts squad that’s best comparable to a play-in team in the NBA. They aren’t bad enough to get a top-10 pick, but aren’t good enough to win a title.
This offseason, we watched Indianapolis give Alec Pierce a boatload of money, but then trade away Michael Pittman Jr., who was the perfect complement to Pierce. The Colts decided to lock in Daniel Jones for big money, who is coming off a torn Achilles that he suffered late last season.
Jones told reporters that he expects to be ready by Week 1, but that’s a bold proclamation. And even if he’s ready to go, the ceiling of this Colts’ team is 9-10 wins at best. The Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars have a higher ceiling than the Colts and could easily return to the playoffs.
Maybe Nnadi will prove everyone wrong and show that he’s not washed up and can still be a run stopper in the middle of the Chiefs’ defense. However, he’ll still have to make the 53-man roster, as a one-year, $1.5 million contract isn’t much money. The Colts can easily cut Nnadi and give his roster spot to someone else.