What Will Chiefs Do With Tranquill And Gay?

The Kansas City Chiefs have some key decisions to make this offseason. And as it usually is for defending champions, those choices become tougher. This is true of both big-name free agents and even depth pieces. But for this particular offseason, Kansas City has a lot of pending free agents on the defensive side of the ball. A couple of depth names that will be fascinating to monitor are linebackers Drue Tranquill and Willie Gay.

Tranquill has only been with the Chiefs for one season. As for Gay, he is set to have his rookie contract expire in just over a week. While neither player may garner the most headlines, each linebacker made crucial plays in depth roles for Kansas City.

Will the Chiefs be able to bring back both Drue Tranquill and Willie Gay? Or, will only one of the two find their way back to Kansas City? Let’s kick it off.

Tranquill And Gay Each Provide Specific Skill Sets

The abilities of both Drue Tranquill and Willie Gay are extremely specific on the second level of the Chiefs defense. As a result, that is huge in the vast and versatile defensive attack of KC defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Tranquill and Gay were probably the most trustworthy linebacker options this past year, when it came to making plays in space.

Throughout his entire NFL career, Tranquill has been savvy as a defender in pass coverage. The depth that he can reach is not matched by every linebacker in the league. But at the same time, he is still worthy of making plays at the catch point. As for Gay, his trigger when working downhill is the quickest of last year’s Kansas City linebacker group. Having that speed to work both straight ahead and laterally was quietly huge for the Chiefs, given the occasional struggles in run defense.

Stepping Up In Critical Moments

Drue Tranquill was only with the Chiefs for one season. Nonetheless, the amount of times that he stepped up and answered the bell was vital for Kansas City. Due to a couple of injuries to Nick Bolton in 2023, Tranquill was able to handle the key duties of MIKE linebacker for Spagnuolo. Calling out assignments and adjustments for the rest of the Chiefs defense were monumental shoes to fill without Bolton. Then in the playoffs, Tranquill was able to give the Chiefs a boost with sacks, run stops at or behind the line of scrimmage and with providing resistance in the open field.

Kansas City has been able to see Gay make impact plays in ways that will not always stand out in the box score. But when you watch the tape back and see important situations, his impact occurred in ways in which other linebackers are not consistently creating. Gay was incredible at getting his long arms into throwing lanes. This led to either tipped passes or off-target throws, to boot. Finally, his ability to chase down both quarterbacks and running backs from lateral angles helped the Chiefs defense put the opponent in longer downs and distances. This happened so much when Kansas City needed it late in games.

Returning Or Leaving?

So, what will the Chiefs ultimately decide to do with Drue Tranquill and Willie Gay? If there were not as many free agent decisions on defense, Kansas City would probably love to have both return. But depending on the cash used on one or both of Chris Jones and L’Jarius Sneed, retaining more of your own defensive free agents becomes more challenging.

Things actually seem somewhat clear, based on how things felt during moments after the Super Bowl LVIII win and during the most recent Super Bowl parade. Let’s start with the Chiefs and their decision on Tranquill. There appears to be mutual interest in a reunion entering 2024. After how much Kansas City proved they wanted his services last offseason, that belief is obviously there in Tranquill. The Chiefs also know that the flexibility of Tranquill and his defensive role is beneficial to the overall defense. If we had to guess, we believe KC ultimately re-signs Drue Tranquill for 2024.

On the flip side, the signs appear to be much different, regarding Willie Gay and his status with the Chiefs. Gay sent out a tweet before the Divisional Round in January. It read, “it’s looking like I’ve probably played my last game in Arrowhead. Damn, I’m going to miss that place. Nothing like it. Let’s go get this ring to end it the right way.”

After winning the Super Bowl, it is not rare for players to let out tears of joy. But in videos that surfaced on social media, Gay was interviewed, and his emotion and tears appeared to show that he knew he may have played his last game with the Chiefs. After the Super Bowl parade, Gay took to X, formerly known as Twitter, again. He tweeted, “we did it the right way FOR SURE. I love you FOREVER Kansas City!!! JUICEMAN OUT.”

With that in mind, the decision on Gay may have already been made, based on the player’s reaction. It would be a bit shocking to see the Chiefs bring him back at this point. If he does indeed leave Kansas City, it will be fascinating to see what kind of market he has.