The LA Chargers came away with their most convincing win over the Kansas City Chiefs in over a decade in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. And in the process, the Chargers exposed a familiar face who is meant to be a key member of the Chiefs secondary, Kristian Fulton.
Fulton signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Chiefs in a move that Chargers fans deemed an overpay at the time. Fulton had a bounce-back season, sure, but the flaws became more apparent the more he played in Los Angeles. By year's end, Chargers fans were completely fine with him not returning to the defense.
The downward trajectory continued into the first game of 2025, where Justin Herbert and the Chargers' offense were able to take advantage of their former teammate. And while it's only been one game on his new deal, it's safe to say the Chiefs are already learning the lesson Chargers fans learned last year.
Chiefs fans are paying $20 million to learn the Kristian Fulton lesson the Chargers already knew
Pro Football Focus grades are by no means the end-all, say-all in evaluating talent but it is worth noting that Fulton recorded a 52.8 grade in the season opener. This is much more in line with how he played before joining the Chargers.
Fulton only played 15 defensive snaps in the game and the Chargers took advantage of when he was on the field. Justin Herbert targeted Fulton once for a 14-yard completion while the veteran corner also recorded a missed tackle in his slim playing time.
The former Chargers cornerback is coming off what appeared to be a minor offseason surgery to clean up his knee. This surgery may explain the lack of playing time, although it flies in the face of the idea that it was a minor surgery.
Whether it is because of the injury or not, the Chiefs hardly played Fulton and he wasn't very good when he did play. It's already apparent just one game into the 2025 season that Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was getting the absolute most out of Fulton and it was simply short-lived success.
Chargers fans knew this after watching a full season of Fulton in 2024 and Chiefs fans are already starting to learn it in 2025. And while his recovery from surgery may open up more playing time for the veteran corner, it's not guaranteed to make him play any better.
It's safe to say the Chargers made the right call by not re-signing Fulton after his bounce-back season in 2024. They got everything they could out of him and let a division rival pay to learn a lesson.