{"id":42313,"date":"2025-03-12T15:19:59","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T15:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313"},"modified":"2025-03-12T15:20:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T15:20:16","slug":"report-chiefs-reunite-with-10-year-vet-staff-favorite-lb-in-free-agency-binh123","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"REPORT:GettyThe Kansas City Chiefs re-signed two of their trusted contributors on special teams.The\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0re-signed two staff favorites late Monday night on March 10, as the first unofficial day of\u00a0NFL\u00a0free agency came to a close.<\/p>\n

NFL Network insider\u00a0Ian Rapoport reported the first, stating: \u201cA long-snapper deal:\u00a0James Winchester\u00a0is returning to the Chiefs on a 1-year deal for $1.65M, fully guaranteed, source said.\u201d<\/p>\n

This reunion was also confirmed\u00a0by Chiefs Digest insider Matt Derrick, who posted: \u201cJames Winchester will be back with the Chiefs in 2025, per source. Year 11 in Kansas City, only trails\u00a0Travis Kelce\u00a0in seniority on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winchester is not only a 10-year veteran of the special teams department that\u2019s\u00a0appeared in almost 190 games\u00a0(including playoffs), but he\u2019s recently been\u00a0voted as a team captain during the playoffs\u00a0as well. Although his return was not unexpected, it\u2019s still always an underrated move to get your long snapper under contract \u2014 being that it\u2019s an important aspect of the kicking game and reliable ones are hard to find.<\/p>\n

In other news,\u00a0Derrick also noted\u00a0that linebacker and fellow special teamer\u00a0Cole Christiansen\u00a0will be returning alongside Winchester to bolster Kansas City\u2019s ST unit and depth.<\/p>\n

\u201cChiefs are re-signing LB Cole Christiansen on a one-year deal, per source,\u201d Derrick informed. \u201cThe former West Point @ArmyWP_Football cadet and two-time Super Bowl champion is back for year No. 4 with Kansas City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past three seasons, Christiansen has suited up for 18 games with the Chiefs (including playoffs). He\u2019s appeared solely on special teams during that time, with 182 ST snaps according\u00a0to Pro Football Reference.<\/p>\n

Chiefs\u2019 LB Depth Is Thriving Again Following Latest Re-Signings<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Chiefs\u2019 linebacker depth was starting to get a little thin in early March,\u00a0prompting Kansas City to re-sign a brief audition\u00a0from the 2024 campaign \u2014 weakside LB\u00a0Blake Lynch.<\/p>\n

Since then, KC has also managed to\u00a0reunite with starting MIKE-backer Nick Bolton\u00a0and Christiansen, who obviously just came to a new agreement with the Chiefs last night on March 10. That really changes the outlook of this entire unit heading into the remainder of free agency and the draft.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, Kansas City still has\u00a0Leo Chenal,\u00a0Drue Tranquill\u00a0and\u00a0Cam Jones\u00a0who were already under contract in 2025, so the linebacker unit is now six strong with players who are very familiar with both defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and special teams coordinator Dave Toub.<\/p>\n

Will Chiefs Re-Sign LB Jack Cochrane in 2025?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The potential odd man out in the linebacker room is homegrown undrafted talent\u00a0Jack Cochrane, who has worked his way up from camp body to core special teamer and key reserve\u00a0since 2022.<\/p>\n

Cochrane suffered a fractured ankle in December, and he\u2019s also a restricted free agent now. There has been no update on the Chiefs potentially tendering Cochrane, but\u00a0they weren\u2019t expected to do so\u00a0due to the cost of the cheapest RFA tender \u2014 $3.267 million in 2025.<\/p>\n

That does not preclude Cochrane from re-signing to a veteran minimum contract in Kansas City at a later date. He\u2019s currently recovering from injury anyway, so it would make sense for teams to wait on a health update for the 26-year-old linebacker.<\/p>\n

At that point, Cochrane\u2019s potential return will probably depend on his interest around the league. If he has a serious suitor or two that\u2019s willing to pay him more than the league minimum, then the two-time Super Bowl champ could walk for a better opportunity.<\/p>\n

If not, it would make sense for him to come back. Cochrane has spent his entire pro career with the KC coaching staff, so it\u2019d be a soft landing after his ankle injury.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":42314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nREPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-12T15:19:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-12T15:20:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/638773717184439964.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2068\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313\",\"name\":\"REPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/638773717184439964.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-12T15:19:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-12T15:20:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/638773717184439964.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/638773717184439964.jpg\",\"width\":1800,\"height\":2068},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"REPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"News 365\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\",\"name\":\"MrLuu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrLuu\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"REPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency - News 365","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"REPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency - News 365","og_description":"Getty","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-03-12T15:19:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-12T15:20:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1800,"height":2068,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/638773717184439964.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrLuu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrLuu","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313","name":"REPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/638773717184439964.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-12T15:19:59+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-12T15:20:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/638773717184439964.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/638773717184439964.jpg","width":1800,"height":2068},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=42313#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"REPORT: Chiefs Reunite With 10-Year Vet & Staff Favorite LB in Free Agency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6","name":"MrLuu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrLuu"},"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42313"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42317,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42313\/revisions\/42317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}