The Kansas City Chiefs haven't even started their 2025 season yet but even still, players will be finding themselves in difficult positions. One such player who might fall into this category for the Chiefs is Derrick Nnadi.
The Chiefs drafted Nnadi in the third round of the 2018 draft and he spent seven years on their defensive line. This past offseason he left for the New York Jets but it turns out that his departure from Kansas City wouldn't last long, as the Chiefs reacquired him, bringing him back to the organization that drafted him.
It wasn't necessarily a bad move on the Chiefs' end but it was a bit of a confusing one. Not only has Nnadi's production in recent years declined mightily but the Chiefs seemingly chose to bring him back instead of keeping Mike Pennel around (Pennel signed with the Bengals' practice squad). K.C. also signed Zacch Pickens and Brodric Smith as practice squad pieces, further raising eyebrows about this move.
Derrick Nnadi will be on a short leash for Chiefs in 2025
Brett Veach has already said that he's looking for help along the defensive interior so one would have to think that if Nnadi continues his downward trajectory in production that his reunion with the Chiefs could be short-lived. He'll have to play better than he has in recent years but Steve Spagnuolo clearly wanted him back in his system and now he has a chance to show why.
That being said, with the other names brought in recently. if Nnadi isn't playing up to expectations, the team will need to rotate him with someone else. It was a bit surprising that K.C. didn't simply re-sign Nnadi in the first place but he's back anyway. It could be short-lived but for now, he has the chance to show why the Chiefs reaquired him and do some damage as a rotational piece.
Otherwise, Nnadi could go through his second breakup with the Chiefs in less than a year.