The Kansas City Chiefs offseason has been very productive thus far. They made a big splash when they signed Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III. They then paired that big signing on offense with a trio of underrated defensive signings. They overhauled their defense even further with a draft class that received mostly high grades. However, the Chiefs still have a few potential holes on their roster, and one of those is at linebacker.
The Chiefs had to let Leo Chenal walk in free agency this offseason. Despite that loss, they have not yet signed any linebackers in free agency, and despite going defense-heavy in the draft, linebacker wasn't one of the positions they addressed. The Chiefs may like a couple of their young linebackers as potential replacements, but the linebacker room is still woefully short on NFL experience, especially if either Nick Bolton or Drue Tranquill had to miss any time this season.
There has been a lot of speculation among Chiefs fans that last year's fifth-round draft pick, Jeffrey Bassa, could be in line to replace Chenal. However, Bassa is more of a coverage linebacker, and Chenal's SAM linebacker spot is a run-stopping position that frequently requires taking on blockers head-on. That isn't a good fit for Bassa. If KC is going to fill that spot in-house, undrafted rookie Cooper McDonald is the logical pick. He's a more physical linebacker, and the Chiefs seemed impressed with him last season. There's also a chance that R. Mason Thomas could take a few of Chenal's vacated snaps as a hybrid edge/linebacker just to keep defenses on their toes.
Even if KC doesn't love their in-house options, the Chiefs don't have the cap space to make a major splash signing at linebacker, especially since Chenal's vacated SAM linebacker spot is the one that is on the field the least of KC's three linebacker positions. However, there are a couple of veteran options that seem like they could be a good fit for KC's system without costing much against the salary cap.
Two Free Agent Linebackers The Chiefs Should Consider
Germaine Pratt - 6'3" - 250 pounds - Age: 30
Chiefs fans will likely remember Germaine Pratt as one of the Cincinnati Bengals' starting linebackers during a few of their playoff matchups a few years back. He actually spent most of last season with the Indianapolis Colts. He played 688 total defensive snaps last season and has 104 career starts at linebacker over his seven-year NFL career.
Pratt was a three-down linebacker in his prime who showed good sideline-to-sideline speed and some coverage abilities. As he has gotten older, that speed isn't what it used to be, but he does have the size to play the SAM linebacker spot, even if that wasn't where he was used earlier in his career. Pratt's Pro Football Focus coverage grades may have dropped off over the past two seasons, but his run defense grades were a respectable 70.1 in 2024 and 67.6 last year.
Pratt played for just $1.5 million last year for the Colts, and if the Chiefs could sign him to a similar deal, it would be a worthwhile investment. Pratt could give them insurance if McDonald isn't ready to take over the starting SAM spot and would also give them someone with starting experience who could play the other linebacker spots if either Bolton or Tranquill misses time.
Jahlani Tavai - 6'4" - 255 pounds - Age: 29
An even more underrated signing for the Chiefs would be Jahlani Tavai. Tavai started his seven-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions but has spent the last five years with the New England Patriots. Tavai has 67 career starts, including 51 over the past four seasons with the Patriots.
Tavai is a big, physical, run-stopping linebacker who would be a perfect fit for Chenal's role from last season. His PFF run defense grades over the past three seasons were 75.8, 63.7, and 86.2. Tavai doesn't offer the same versatility to provide depth for the other linebacker spots, but he is probably an even more natural fit for Chenal's snaps than Pratt is.
Tavai signed a decent-sized contract before the 2024 season, and he averaged a $4.5 million cap hit over the past two seasons under it. However, the Patriots ultimately decided that his one-dimensional run-stopper role wasn't worth that deal anymore, so they cut him at the end of last season. It seems unlikely that anyone will pay him that much again, but a one-year deal in the $1.5–2 million range seems reasonable for Tavai.
Both of these free-agent linebacker options would give the Chiefs some starting experience to either fill Leo Chenal's 400+ defensive snaps or, at the very least, give them someone to compete with Cooper McDonald for the job and provide valuable depth. They don't need to financially invest much in the position, but it does feel like they could use another experienced player in their linebacker room. It will be interesting to see if Brett Veach still has a move up his sleeve.
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