Won't miss: Drue Tranquill
Drue Tranquill signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs after a breakout season with the Bolts. This marked the second-consecutive offseason in which the Chargers allowed a breakout linebacker to sign with another team on a cheap deal.
While it does sting to see Tranquill leave, especially with him going to the Chiefs, fans will likely forget about this feeling once the 2023 season is in full swing. Just like with Kyzir White, fans won't be missing Tranquill like they thought they would be after the signing was made official.
That is not to say that Tranquill is a bad player. There have been some weird takes from Chargers fans that have attempted to discredit Tranquill and pretend like he is worse than he actually is. However, the team has his replacement in Eric Kendricks and that should be more than enough.
There is naturally a higher injury risk, as well as the risk of regression, for Kendricks since he is older than Tranquill and on the wrong side of 30. That being said, he fits what the Chargers need him to do as he is a better run-stuffer and has proven in the past that he can excel in pass coverage.
Will he be the All-Pro version of himself? Probably not. Will he be able to replace what Tranquill offered the team last season? Most likely.
Sure, in a perfect world, the Chargers could have just brought Tranquill back for half the cost of Kendricks. Heck, maybe the team could have signed both players at this price. But at the end of the day, Tranquill likely won't be missed as much as fans think.