{"id":43857,"date":"2026-02-26T00:04:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T00:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=43857"},"modified":"2026-02-26T00:08:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T00:08:50","slug":"chiefs-may-have-been-given-1-more-reason-to-consider-keeping-lb-drue-tranquill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=43857","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 Kansas City Chiefs Get Another Compelling Reason to Keep LB Drue Tranquill \u2014 What It Means for 2026 \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udd25"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1732537431_ae6fe4-e1709922379945.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1732537431_ae6fe4-e1709922379945.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1732537431_ae6fe4-e1709922379945.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1732537431_ae6fe4-e1709922379945.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Chiefs May Have Been Given 1 More Reason to Consider Keeping LB Drue Tranquill\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Kansas City Chiefs are working diligently to give themselves some spending money for free agency, which is just a couple of weeks away.<\/p>\n<p>They already restructured quarterback Patrick Mahomes\u2019 contract, which freed up nearly $44 million. The team also released veteran defensive end Mike Danna, giving them another $9 million to work with.<\/p>\n<p>More cuts could be on the way as the Chiefs look to retool their roster. It has been heavily speculated that linebacker Drue Tranquill could be among them, as Kansas City could save nearly $6 million by releasing him. However, the folks over at Pro Football Focus reminded everybody that Tranquill is still a very valuable player.<\/p>\n<h2>Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 Drue Tranquill Among Highest-Graded LBs of 2025<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5183877\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Drue-Tranquill-e1730077439637.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300\" alt=\"Chiefs May Have Been Given 1 More Reason to Consider Keeping LB Drue Tranquill\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5183877\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5183877\">\n<\/div>\n<p>PFF revealed their highest-graded linebackers of the 2025 season, and Tranquill landed at No. 14 with an overall grade of 76.2. Here is his analysis, via Mason Cameron:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cTranquill has been a steady and stable presence at the heart of the Chiefs\u2019 defense for the past three seasons. 2025 marked a career year for Tranquill, who posted new high marks as a run defender, with his 89.4 PFF grade ranking sixth among qualifying linebackers. He also recorded the lowest missed tackle percentage (3.6%) among linebackers with at least 100 tackle attempts.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Last season Tranquill posted 103 total tackles, two sacks, five quarterback pressures, one forced fumble, and one pass defended in 17 starts. It could be tough for Kansas City to part ways with that type of production, especially with the many other roster holes they need to fill. Tranquill wasn\u2019t the only Chiefs linebacker to make PFF\u2019s list.<\/p>\n<h2>Nick Bolton Also Makes PFF\u2019s Highest-Graded LBs List<\/h2>\n<p>Bolton was ranked even higher than Tranquill, coming in at No. 9 with a 78.9 overall grade. Here is Bolton\u2019s breakdown:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAfter the Chiefs awarded him a lucrative extension last offseason, Bolton responded by churning out the best season of his young career. Although he started slow, Bolton rose to the upper echelon of NFL defenders in the back half of the year, with his 91.1 PFF overall grade from Week 9 through the end of the season standing as the highest mark by any linebacker.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Bolton recorded 154 total tackles, one sack, 11 quarterback pressures, one forced fumble, six passes defended, and one interception in 17 starts. His tackle total was his highest in three years. Bolton is firmly entrenched as Kansas City\u2019s starting middle linebacker after signing a three-year, $45 million contract extension last offseason. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has often referred to Bolton as the \u201cPatrick Mahomes\u201d of the Chiefs\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n<p>The Chiefs may lose their strongside starting linebacker Leo Chenal, who is set to become a free agent. If they do, that would be another reason to keep Tranquill around, who has one year left on his current deal. Kansas City spent a fifth-round pick on Jeffrey Bassa in last year\u2019s draft, and he could step into Chenal\u2019s role if he leaves. Other depth guys the Chiefs have at linebacker include veterans Jack Cochrane and Cole Christiansen, as well as second-year man Cooper McDonald.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Drue Tranquill and Nick Bolton of the Kansas City Chiefs each landed on Pro Football Focus&#8217; 2025 highest-graded linebackers list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kansas-city-chiefs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udea8 Kansas City Chiefs Get Another Compelling Reason to Keep LB Drue Tranquill \u2014 What It Means for 2026 \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udd25 - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=43857\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udea8 Kansas City Chiefs Get Another Compelling Reason to Keep LB Drue Tranquill \u2014 What It Means for 2026 \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udd25 - 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