3 former Chargers who won't live up to their new contracts

3. Drue Tranquill, Kansas City Chiefs

Drue Tranquill is unlike the other two players on this list as he did not leave the Chargers this offseason. Tranquill left the Chargers last spring and signed an exceptionally valued contract with the Kansas City Chiefs for just $3 million.

There is no denying that Tranquill not only lived up to that contract but far exceeded it. To reward Tranquill after the team's Super Bowl season, the Chiefs re-signed the former Chargers linebacker to a three-year, $19 million deal.

The contract essentially operates as a two-year deal as the Chiefs could get out of it relatively unscathed if they need to before the 2026 season. If the Chiefs needed to cut Tranquill they would carry just a $1.5 million dead cap hit in 2026, so there isn't any long-term concerns.

That being said, Tranquill is going to have a pretty big cap hit for the level of play he brings in his second season. The Chiefs were able to keep his cap hit to just $3 million in 2024 but in 2025 that balloons to $8.5 million with no way for the Chiefs to get out of it.

Tranquill is a solid rotational linebacker but that is all he is. Linebackers do not make much in today's game and to pay someone $8.5 million to essentially be the LB2/3 is a tad risky. The Chiefs kind of had to do it, as they needed to bring him back, but he certainly won't live up to that price tag.

But at the end of the day, the Chiefs got such a great deal on his contract in 2023, so in the grand scheme they are still getting great value out of bringing in Tranquill. When we just hone in on his new deal, it is safe to say he won't live up to expectations.