The Kansas City Chiefs were willing to part with a key defensive piece on their team, only for the deal moving him to an NFC struggler eventually collapsing.
The Chiefs parted with one of their most important players when they traded cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams for a package of draft picks.
Kansas City general manager Brett Veach seemed primed to move on from another player, only for the athlete himself to change his mind.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the New York Giants attempted to pry away linebacker Drue Tranquill from the Chiefs.
‘The linebacker that the Giants actually were going to trade for, from the Kansas City Chiefs – it seemed to be before the start of free agency – Drue Tranquill,’ Raanan said on the ‘Breaking Big Blue’ podcast.
However, when facing the prospect of swapping Arrowhead Stadium for MetLife Stadium, Tranquill ‘ended up staying in Kansas City, taking a pay cut to stay.’
The New York Giants attempted to trade for Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill
But Tranquill (23) rejected the move and re-structured his contract to stay in Kansas City
Changing Tranquill’s deal helped the Chiefs free up cap space to sign players like Travis Kelce
Raanan added, ‘Seems to be something he wanted to do. He didn’t want to leave there.’
Tranquill agreed to a restructuring in the final year of his contract, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo.
This reduced his base pay from $6million to $3.5million – with $3m guaranteed in the deal.
Doing this dropped Tranquill’s cap number by two-and-a-half million dollars – allowing the Chiefs to make major free agent signings.
Among the deals Kansas City inked this offseason included tight end Travis Kelce, who returned on a one-year $12million deal.
The Chiefs also re-loaded with running back and Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III and safety Alohi Gilman.
