The New York Jets’ defensive line shuffle continued Sunday when the team traded veteran tackle Derrick Nnadi to the Kansas City Chiefs, marking their third defensive tackle move in four days.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Jets dealt Nnadi to the Chiefs in exchange for a conditional sixth or seventh-round pick swap in 2027.
The move comes after New York acquired Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips earlier this week, leaving Nnadi as the odd man out. The 28-year-old, who signed with the Jets this offseason, had been widely viewed as a cut candidate.
Instead, the team salvaged value by sending him back to Kansas City, where he previously won three Super Bowls.
The three-time Super Bowl champion failed to make much of an impact in the preseason opener and has shown little in practice, which left him on the outside looking in.
Nnadi immediately made his presence felt when he broke into the league, earning 11 starts as a rookie and carving out a steady role along Kansas City’s defensive front. Over seven seasons under head coach Andy Reid, he appeared in 115 games and cracked the starting lineup 87 times.
Nnadi’s workload peaked in recent years, starting every game in both 2022 and 2023, but his role shifted dramatically last fall. He opened just one contest in 2024 and logged only 221 defensive snaps — the fewest of his career.
Pro Football Focus consistently graded him as a reliable run stopper, posting marks above 70.0 in each of his first three campaigns. That production tailed off, though, as his run-defense grade slipped below 41.0 in three straight seasons, marking a significant decline as a run-stuffer, the only facet where he has provided considerable value throughout his career.
Ultimately, there was no room for him on the depth chart after a sluggish summer in Florham Park, and the Jets turned the page while Nnadi gets a chance to reestablish himself in Kansas City, the place where he first made his name.
