Derrick Nnadi spent his first seven seasons in Kansas City and played in five Super Bowls with the Chiefs. Now, according to his agency, he’s the latest defensive player to sign with the Jets and new head coach Aaron Glenn.
For six of those seasons, Nnadi was a pillar in the middle of the Chiefs’ defensive line. He started all 12 postseason contests and all but 13 regular-season games from 2018-23. And while he still played in every game last season, Nnadi pivoted to a reserve in Steve Spagnuolo’s rotation as Tershawn Wharton and Mike Pennel split the majority of starting snaps.
Nnadi’s departure literally leaves a huge hole in the Chiefs’ defensive front. Wharton and his 6½ sacks also left last week, when the Carolina Panthers signed him to an unrestricted free-agent contract. Pennel is also an unrestricted free agent but has yet to sign.
Kansas City on Friday signed journeyman Jerry Tillery, a 6-6, 295-pound veteran defensive tackle, but Chiefs general manager Brett Veach surely will seek to add at least one more player in that area to help Chris Jones with double teams and collapse the pocket.
Nnadi, who turns 29 in May, played just 20 percent of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps last season. In seven seasons and 115 games with the Chiefs, he posted five sacks among 233 tackles, with one forced fumble and one interception.
While the Chiefs now have lost five defensive players in free agency, their best personnel moves on defense were likely keeping linebacker Nick Bolton off the market and restructuring Jones’ contract before free agency even began. Reworking that contract helped Kansas City poach cornerback Kristian Fulton from the Chargers.
In fact, tying up Bolton, guard Trey Smith on the franchise tag, and re-signing Hollywood Brown led some analysts to give the Chiefs’ high grades in free agency.
Before the departures of Nnadi and Wharton, the Chiefs also have lost safety Justin Reid (New Orleans), cornerback Keith Taylor (Atlanta) and linebacker Josh Uche (Philadelphia) on the defensive side of the ball. On offense, Kansas City bid farewell this week to wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins (Baltimore) and Justin Watson (Houston), and running back Samaje Perine (Cincinnati).
While Justin Fields is the most prominent free agent to sign with the Jets, Glenn has also added defensive tackle Byron Cowart, safety Andre Cisco and cornerbacks Brandon Stephens and Kris Boyd to his defense.
