The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a miserable 6-11 season in 2025. Early returns from the 2026 offseason suggest that the Chiefs brass has urgency to make last year an outlier and restore the dynasty that appeared in five of the past seven Super Bowls — winning three, including back-to-back in 2022 and 2023.
The franchise caused some unrest in Chiefs Kingdom by trading away All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams last week. Then, the queasiness intensified when impending unrestricted free-agent cornerback Jaylen Watson agreed to terms with the Rams (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). Unrestricted free-agent safety Bryan Cook also agreed to join the Cincinnati Bengals (via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero).
It appears Chiefs general manager Brett Veach had a plan.
To start, the Chiefs under Veach have historically never given star defensive backs big second contracts. The Chiefs traded All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters in March 2018. They let Charvarius Ward walk in free agency in March 2022. They traded two-time Super Bowl champion L’Jarius Sneed in March 2024. While we wait to see how the Chiefs address cornerback, Kansas City made a move to address the loss of Cook.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs plan to sign Baltimore Ravens free-agent safety Alohi Gilman on a three-year, $24.75 million contract with $15 million fully guaranteed. By comparison, as The Kansas City Star‘s Sam McDowell pointed out, “Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Bryan Cook — three members of the Chiefs’ 2022 draft, all in the secondary — have combined to secure $215 million in contracts in the last 24 hours.”
The Ravens traded with the Los Angeles Chargers to acquire Gilman last October. The 28-year-old Navy and Notre Dame product seamlessly fit into the Ravens’ defense, which was struggling at the time. His reliable safety play allowed for jack-of-all-trades All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton to roam freely and impact the game at multiple levels. Gilman should similarly be a fun fit in Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme.
Elsewhere during the legal tampering period, which allows teams to negotiate and agree to terms with impending unrestricted free agents, the Chiefs reportedly agreed to terms with former Seattle Seahawks running back and reigning Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker. Deals can be signed when the new league year and free agency officially begin on Wednesday at 4 p.m. EST.
