Report: Chiefs’ Drue Tranquill gets 3-year deal. What does it mean for Willie Gay?

A piece of the Chiefs’ 2024 defense has fallen into place.

Linebacker Drue Tranquill has reached an agreement on a three-year deal worth $19 million, with $13 million guaranteed. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Tranquill came to the Chiefs last season as a free agent on a one-year deal after spending his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers.

He started eight of 16 games, often filling in for injured starter Nick Bolton, and finished with 4 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles. He started the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens and finished with eight tackles.

“We knew firsthand how good (he) was with the Chargers,” Andy Reid said before the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII victory over the San Franciso 49ers. “He’s done all of that here. He developed a great relationship and rapport with the linebackers and that room and the coaches.”

The Chiefs have another free agent linebacker in Willie Gay Jr.

After the Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card playoff game, Gay posted a tweet that made it sound like he believed he wouldn’t be back in Kansas City:

“It’s looking like I’ve probably played my last game in Arrowhead,” Gay wrote on Twitter. “Damn, I’m going to miss that place. Nothing like it. Let’s go get this ring to end it the right way.”