The Kansas City Chiefs have been busy this offseason and have already signed multiple players before the start of free agency.
The Kansas City Chiefs are ensuring that they don’t miss the playoffs again after missing for the first time since 2014.
The Chiefs have been very busy this offseason, cutting players and restructuring contracts to free up salary cap space ahead of free agency. Free agency technically starts on March 11, but Monday marks the first day of a two-day “legal tampering” period where teams can agree to terms on free agent contracts.
Kansas City has already agreed to a blockbuster deal with reigning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player running back Kenneth Walker III and brought back star tight end Travis Kelce for one more year.
But the Chiefs didn’t stop there. Kansas City signed former New England Patriots defensive tackle/fullback Khyiris Tonga to a three-year, $21 million contract. While this move isn’t nearly as exciting as bringing Walker in and re-signing Kelce, it could still have a lot of impact on both sides of the ball for the Chiefs.
Tonga is a former seventh-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2021 and since leaving the Bears, he has carved out a nice career for himself and just got paid by a team hungry to get back to dominance. He graded 38th out of 134 qualified defensive linemen with a 67.2 grade, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Tonga played several roles for the Patriots and NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport called him a Swiss-army knife.
“This is a fun one,” Rapoport said on The Insiders. “The reason why I say this is fun is because Khyiris Tonga is not just a defensive tackle. He’s also a fullback, also does a lot of things – a Swiss-army knife for the New England Patriots for the last several years. It has certainly been a fascinating and fun day for the Kansas City Chiefs.”
Tonga is incredibly strong and uses his 6-foot-4, 338-pound frame to establish himself as a force in the run game both as a fullback and a defender. He plugs up a lot of holes defensively and makes it hard for running backs to get through him.
Tonga isn’t going to provide much production as a pass-rusher, but he has great hands and is known for shedding blocks. He will be a nice addition to Kansas City’s defensive rotation, but I’m excited to see what he does for the offense.
After adding an elite dual-threat running back in Walker to the mix, using Tonga as a lead blocker on certain downs will be incredibly difficult for opposing defenses to stop them. Tonga will help Walker create separation and break off explosive runs, something the Chiefs lacked tremendously last season.
The Chiefs may have lost several key defenders, but the offense is being rebuilt as a powerhouse yet again.