One of the better signings that the Kansas City Chiefs made ahead of winning a second-consecutive Super Bowl was linebacker Drue Tranquill. Tranquill was coming off a career year with the LA Chargers and signed a one-year, $3 million (with incentives) contract with the Chiefs.
Tranquill played an important role in Kansas City's defense that resulted in him getting a new three-year, $19 million contract from the Chiefs after the 2023 season. Meanwhile, the Chargers were stuck with mediocre linebacker play from Kenneth Murray and Eric Kendricks.
Both Murray and Kendricks are off the roster with one leaving in free agency and the other being cut, respectively. To replace them, the Chargers signed former Bolt Denzel Perryman and drafted Jim Harbaugh's former college player, Junior Colson. While those two additions were promising, the Chiefs still have a better linebacker room for the 2024 season.
Despite that fact, the Chiefs are still going out and taking linebackers right from the Chargers' fingertips. The Chargers originally were reported to have signed undrafted free agent Luquay Washington, however, Washington has since changed course and will join the Chiefs instead.
New Britain to Kansas City ✍️@Washingt0n_4 has signed with the 2x defending Super Bowl Champs Kansas City Chiefs as a UDFA‼️#NextLevelBlueDevils pic.twitter.com/sTWGt5m2ID
— CCSU Football (@ccsu_fb) April 28, 2024
Luquay Washington ditches Chargers in favor of Chiefs
In the grand scheme of things, the Chargers losing an UDFA linebacker to the Chiefs probably won't make that big of a difference. It is more likely than not that Washington wouldn't have many either roster after training camp.
That being said, if Washington were to turn into a legitimate asset on the Chiefs' defense then him switching course would make him a justifable villain for Chargers fans.
More importantly, with Washington ditching LA for KC, the Chargers roster is now at 87 players. Teams are allocated 90 players for training camp rosters, giving the Bolts three spots to utilize until the start of camp.
Los Angeles has cap space to spend after the draft and there are several free agents who make perfect sense for the team. The Chargers weren't going to not sign a free agent in favor of an UDFA but this does make it easier as the team won't have to release anyone.
There are still several promising UDFAs that the Chargers brought in who will compete for roster spots in camp. Some of them may outright win a roster spot and turn into a valuable player.
Washington is not going to be one of those players, as he now competes for a roster spot on a team that has a better linebacker room.