Derrick Nnadi will re-sign with Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have brought back defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi per a post from his agents, SportsTrust Advisors, on Twitter.

Nnadi just hit free agency for the first time in his NFL career since being drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Nnadi has spent the last four seasons in K.C. as an important presence along the interior next to All-Pro Chris Jones, and has been one of the team’s best defenders against the run in that span.

The terms of the deal were not yet disclosed.

Per his agents, defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi has re-signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Nnadi’s re-signing keeps a lot of continuity along a defensive line that will welcome back Jones, Turk Wharton, and Khalen Saunders once again at tackle. The team also found a way to keep Frank Clark on a restructured deal instead of releasing him as expected heading into free agency. This means the Chiefs return the majority of the same defensive line as they had in 2021.

Nnadi set a career-high with 3 sacks last season and showed a bit more disruption inside. He had 38 total tackles and 5 quarterback hits while playing in 40 percent of all snaps in 17 games. His six quarterback pressures also set a new high in 2021, and those totals reflect the fact that Nnadi mostly plays on early downs.

During the preseason, Brett Veach stated that he wanted to rebuild the defensive line, so it’s interesting to see the team bringing back so many familiar faces. However, they do have a new coach in Joe Cullen up front, who was the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, so his influence will be something to watch. There’s also plenty of time for the Chiefs to make further acquisitions.

Nnadi is an ironman of a performer who has only missed one game in his NFL career and that was the final game of the 2020 season in which Andy Reid rested his starters.