The Kansas City Chiefs defense has received its fair share of attention at training camp, with some highlights and aggressive plays catching the attention of observers ahead of the team’s first preseason game. The unit is often overlooked, given that all the firepower on offense grabs the lion’s share of notice from the national media, but the unit has shown significant improvements over the last few seasons.
One new addition to the defense this season is linebacker Drue Tranquill, who brings an extra veteran presence familiar with the Chiefs’ AFC West rivals after starting his career with the Los Angeles Chargers. Tranquill spoke to the media on Monday and shared his excitement to sign with the Chiefs and extrapolated on how he appreciated the front office’s view of him during contract negotiations.
“Yeah, there was, at any given time, there [were] probably ten or eleven teams involved,” Tranquill said of his experience in free agency. “And, as dominoes fell, you know that that list shrunk. But there [were] about five, six teams that last day [that] I was kind of choosing between, and I think just talking to Coach Spags [Steve Spagnuolo], talking to Brett Veach, talking to Andy Reid, like, I just felt really valued here. Felt like they were going to use a lot of my strengths, [and] maximize me as a player here. And that excited me and ultimately led to my decision to come here.”
Tranquill is entering his fifth season in the league after spending his first four years with the Chargers. He’s battled the Chiefs multiple times as a division rival, so he understands the team’s dynamic as an opponent and appreciates his new role heading into Kansas City’s effort to defend their championship title next season.
