The Kansas City Chiefs lost another veteran free agent on the evening of March 11, as long-time nose tackle Derrick Nnadi agreed to sign with the Indianapolis Colts. This news came just after defensive ends Charles Omenihu and Malik Herring left for new opportunities.
NFL insider Ari Meirov was the first to report the Nnadi news on X, relaying: “The Colts have signed former Chiefs DT Derrick Nnadi, per his agents @_SportsTrust.”
Nnadi has left Kansas City before. Last offseason, the run-stuffer defensive lineman took a $1.423 million contract from the New York Jets, but the Chiefs ended up trading for him before the season began.
That’s right. Nnadi spent the spring and summer with the Jets before being flipped back to KC for a late-round pick swap just before the 53-man roster cutdown. The move continued Nnadi’s streak of only suiting up for the Chiefs throughout his career.
A former third-round pick in 2018, Nnadi has appeared in 148 total outings for Kansas City, including the playoffs. He has technically started 110 of those appearances.
Nnadi isn’t the type to fill up the stat sheet. He’s a space-clogger at his core, and his job is to jam up the gut of the opposing offensive line on run defense.
Now, Nnadi will attempt to serve in a similar role with the Colts.
Ex-Chiefs DT Derrick Nnadi Is a 3-Time Super Bowl Champion
GettyFormer Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi.
Nnadi has always been a sort of controversial staff favorite of head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Fans and analysts often questioned why he was on the roster year after year. And yet, Reid and Spagnuolo kept finding ways to keep him on the 53.
The most obvious example of that was the Jets trade last summer, which brought Nnadi back to Kansas City.
Nnadi is a three-time Super Bowl champion, so the nose tackle’s KC tenure was extremely successful despite his warts as a player.
Below were his regular season and postseason contributions for the Chiefs.
- 249 total tackles in the regular season, 38 over 18 playoff outings.
- 5.0 total sacks in the regular season, 1.0 career playoff sack.
- 7 regular season tackles for a loss, 3 in the playoffs.
- 9 regular season QB hits, 3 in the playoffs.
- 1 regular season interception and 1 regular season forced fumble.
- 2 regular season pass deflections.
It remains to be seen if this is the end of Nnadi’s eight-year tenure in Kansas City.
Chiefs NFL Free Agency News Tracker
For those who missed portions of NFL free agency so far, you can find all of the Chiefs-related news right here.
Additions
The Chiefs’ top additions in terms of money spent have been running back Kenneth Walker III and safety Alohi Gilman. Checking in just below those two is new defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga.
Kansas City also signed superstar Travis Kelce to a new contract and brought back wide receivers Tyquan Thornton and Nikko Remigio.
Exclusive-rights free agent and punter Matt Araiza is expected to return, too. And we cannot forget about veteran long snapper James Winchester, who re-signed for another campaign.
Departures
On the flip side, Kansas City has lost a growing list of free agents, including Nnadi, Omenihu, and Herring.
Along with those three defensive linemen, the Chiefs traded star cornerback Trent McDuffie for cap relief and lost fellow starting CB Jaylen Watson on the open market. Both ended up with the Los Angeles Rams.
Sticking with the secondary, KC also saw both starting safety Bryan Cook and reserve cornerback Joshua Williams sign with new teams. As did linebacker Leo Chenal, who cashed in with the Washington Commanders.
Running back Isiah Pacheco and backup quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Shane Buechele are the final free agent departures as of March 11.
Having said that, former starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor and defensive end Mike Danna are not expected to re-sign either, considering they were both released before all of the madness this week.
Chiefs Lose 148-Game Vet to AFC Challenger in NFL Free Agency: Report