One of the biggest decisions the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0are facing this offseason is what to do\u00a0with middle linebacker Nick Bolton.<\/p>\n
As Bolton is set to hit free agency, the Chiefs can either sign him to a long-term contract, apply the franchise tag to him, or let him walk. If they do re-sign Bolton, they will be pretty set at the LB position in 2025. If not, they\u2019ll have a big need for a starter. Giving him the franchise tag\u00a0is very unlikely.<\/p>\n
Kansas City is set at weakside LB with Drue Tranquill and strongside LB with Leo Chenal. Cam Jones is the only other LB currently under contract in 2025. The NFL\u2019s free agent legal tampering period starts on March 10, with signings able to become official on March 12, marking the beginning of the new league year. Let\u2019s take a look at some potential LB options for the Chiefs in 2025.<\/p>\n
The 13-year NFL veteran may not be quite the same athlete he once was, but considering how freakishly athletic he was in his younger days David should still have some juice left. He is also still very productive, recording 122 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures, three forced fumbles, and one interception in 2024.<\/p>\n
David is a former All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection. He would be an instant leader on the Chiefs\u2019 defense and would thrive in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo\u2019s system. At 35-years-old, David will come affordable and on a short-term contract. This is, of course, assuming Bolton does not return to K.C.<\/p>\n
Like David, Wagner is another 13-year veteran who is still highly productive. Last year Wagner racked up 132 total tackles, two sacks, 11 QB pressures, one forced fumble, and four passes defensed. An 11-time All-Pro and NFL 2010s All-Decade Team member, Wagner is potentially a future Hall of Famer.<\/p>\n
Wanger has signed one-year contracts each of the last two years, so I would expect that trend to continue, perhaps with second year option. It won\u2019t break the bank to acquire him and it\u2019s reasonable to believe he has a couple of more good years left in him. This move also hinges of Bolton departing.<\/p>\n
Gay spent the 2024 season with the\u00a0New Orleans Saints\u00a0after playing in K.C. for the first five years of his career. Still just 27-years-old, Gay is very athletic and is known for making splash plays. He was beat out by\u00a0Pete Werner for a starting role in New Orleans, so Gay played just 27 percent of the Saints\u2019 defensive snaps.<\/p>\n
He recorded\u00a028 tackles, three passes defensed, one forced fumble, and two sacks, which isn\u2019t bad considering his limited playing time. If the Chiefs brough Gay back, they could move Chenal to Bolton\u2019s MLB position and plug Gay back in as the starting SLB. Gay will come cheap and likely on a one-year \u201cprove it\u201d type of deal.<\/p>\n
The brother of former Chiefs LB Ben Niemann, Nick would make for a good depth signing should K.C. re-sign Bolton. A four-year veteran, Niemann has been a good rotational LB an core special teams contributor for the\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers.<\/p>\n
Niemann has started three games throughout his career and has recorded 86 total tackles, one interception, and three passes defensed. With how much the Chiefs value their backup players being able to play well on special teams, Niemann would be a good fit in K.C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the biggest decisions the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0are facing this offseason is what to do\u00a0with middle linebacker Nick Bolton. As Bolton is set to hit free agency,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":36259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n