The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off their worst season since 2012, going 6-11. Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending injury, albeit at the end of the year. The team struggled in several facets of professional football, but the lack of a pass rush was chief among them. They finished tied for 26th in the NFL with just 35 sacks in 2025. The season prior, they racked up only 39 sacks.
The Chiefs, recognizing that some fresh pass rushers are needed, decided to move on from veteran Michael Danna on Monday.
Kansas City's social team posted a thank-you message for Danna. The move immediately clears almost $9 million in cap space, while leaving $2.6 million in dead money, per Yahoo Sports. He was slated to enter the final year of a three-year deal Danna signed with the Chiefs in 2024.
But after a few productive seasons in Kansas City, his numbers plummeted last season. Danna started a career-high 14 games, yet garnered just one sack and 4.5 total over the last two seasons. The Detroit, Michigan native helped the Chiefs win back-to-back Super Bowls, having played all six years of his pro career with the team.
Danna, drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Chiefs, started 49 of 87 games at defensive end. He posted 21.5 sacks, 194 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, six passes defensed, and an interception during his time with the team.
With Danna no longer in the fold, the Chiefs currently have George Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu as their only veteran edge rushers. Omenihu has consistently been a rotational guy throughout his seven-year NFL career.
The remaining defensive ends on the roster (Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Ashton Gillette, Janarius Robinson, Ethan Downs) are all highly inexperienced. So, it would be surprising not to see the Chiefs add one, maybe two, defensive ends in free agency.
