The Kansas City Chiefs wasted no time improving their roster after failing to make the playoffs this past season. To start the legal tampering period on Monday, the Chiefs signed Super Bowl 60 MVP running back Kenneth Walker to a massive three-year deal.
The Walker signing will capture the headlines across the NFL world, but we should not sleep on the Chiefs’ first free agent addition on the defensive line. According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Kansas City signed veteran defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga to a reported three-year, $21 million deal, which includes $14 million guaranteed.
This is a huge move for the Chiefs, who needed to bolster and upgrade their defensive line after seeing it come up short in 2025. Kansas City thought the combo of Derrick Nnadi, Mike Pennel, Jerry Tillery, and rookie Omarr Norman-Lott would be the answer at defensive tackle, alongside Chris Jones.
Kansas City realized that those veterans weren’t the answer. And to make matters worse, they watched Norman-Lott suffer a torn right ACL in Week 7. However, the good news for Kansas City is that they should have a healthy Norman-Lott and a new piece in Tonga.
Khyiris Tonga Gives Chiefs Breath of Fresh Air at DT Heading into 2026
The 29-year-old Tonga is coming off a strong 2025 season with the New England Patriots, who made it all the way to the Super Bowl. Tonga was signed to a cheap one-year, $2.1 million deal by New England last offseason and outplayed his contract, particularly in the playoffs.
The veteran defender racked up 24 combined tackles, three quarterback pressures, two tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits across 14 games (eight starts). However, when you look at his advanced grades, there’s a lot to love about this move.
According to Pro Football Focus, Tonga had a 74.3 pass rush grade (ranked 18th among 134 qualified defensive linemen) and a win rate of 11.2 percent. Now, his run defense grade wasn’t great at 54.6 (ranked 66th), but if you look at the grades from Pennel, Nnadi, and Tillery, it's night and day.
- Pennel – 51.0 pass rush grade, 55.6 run defense grade
- Nnadi – 50.2 pass rush grade, 46.0 run defense grade
- Tillery – 55.3 pass rush grade, 48.1 run defense grade
Tonga isn’t a sack artist by any stretch, as he has a 0.5 sack in five years. However, if he can create pressure and get push from the interior of the defensive line, it could help Jones, George Karlaftis, and whoever get to the opposing team’s quarterback.
Nonetheless, the Tonga signing is a great step toward improving a disastrous DT room. That said, it can’t stop there. The Chiefs now need to add a couple of run stuffers in free agency on one-year deals and possibly draft someone next month.
If the Chiefs do those things, while also getting a pass rusher or two, this unit should be much improved in 2026.