Bryan Cook Heads to Bengals for $40.24 million Over 3 Years
The Chiefs’ Fab Five of the 2022 NFL Draft lost its third member Monday afternoon with safety Bryan Cook heading to Cincinnati on a three-year deal that includes $18 million in 2026, according to NFL Network.
Cook, a second-round selection (No. 62 overall), played in 62 games for the Chiefs with 47 starts while racking up 238 total tackles, three interceptions and 15 passes defended. Cook also earned two Super Bowl rings with the Chiefs, although he missed the 2023 postseason after suffering a severe ankle injury in Week 13.
Cook played 83.2% of the team’s defensive snaps last season with a team-high 747 of his 825 snaps in the free safety alignment. While the Chiefs still have safeties Chamarri Conner, Jaden Hicks and Chris Roland-Wallace under contract, they lack a true free safety in place of Cook.
With the departures of Cook, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, only cornerbacks Joshua Williams and Nazeeh Johnson, who are unrestricted free agents, remain from the five defensive backs the club selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Veteran DT Khyiris Tonga Agrees to Chiefs Offer
The gaping hole next to Chris Jones on the Kansas City defensive line has a new occupant with the Chiefs landing free agent tackle Khyiris Tonga. The three-year deal is worth up to $21 million with $14 million guaranteed, as first reported by ESPN.
Tonga, whose first name is pronounced KYE-riss, started a career-high eight games in 14 contests with the Patriots last season. A seventh-round choice for Chicago in the 2021 NFL Draft, Tonga was waived by the Bears ahead of the 2022 season and spent the next two campaigns with Minnesota. He headed as a free agent to Arizona in 2024 before landing with the Patriots last season.
Tonga initially committed to Utah but switched to BYU after the Cougars hired Kalani Sitake as head coach while Tonga was serving a two-year mission trip between high school and college. Tonga turns 30 in July.
The Chiefs have lacked a consistent run-stuffing, space-eating nose tackle next to Chris Jones in recent seasons, and the club hopes the 6-foot-2, 335-pound Tonga can fit the bill. He’s stacked up 113 total tackles in 67 games with 15 starts in his career. He played a career-high 333 defensive snaps last season and picked up seven tackles, including two for a loss and a sack for the Patriots during their Super Bowl run.
Tonga has almost $6.4 million in career earnings and signed a one-year deal last March with the Patriots worth $2.1 million.
CB Jaylen Watson Joins Trent McDuffie with Rams
Jaylen Watson is following former teammate Trent McDuffie to the West Coast after agreeing to terms with the Los Angeles Rams on a three-year deal worth $51 million with $34 million in guarantees, according to NFL Network.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Watson, who traveled cross-country from Augusta, Georgia to Ventura College for football. After two seasons with Ventura, he committed to USC but did not qualify academically. He returned to Georgia in 2019 and worked at a Wendy’s managed by his mom before enrolling at Washington State in 2020.
The Chiefs selected Watson in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and he was among the team’s Fab Five defensive backs from that year’s draft class. He played in 53 regular-season games over the past seasons with 29 starts. He saved his best performance for his contract season in 2025, posting career highs with 64 total tackles, three tackles for a loss, two sacks, two interceptions and six passes defended. Watson was a member of Kansas City’s Super Bowl championship teams in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Super Bowl MVP RB Kenneth Walker III Heading to KC
The Chiefs made their first big splash in free agency by landing arguably the prize they coveted the most — Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III.
Walker topped 1,000 yards rushing for the second time in four seasons in 2025, tallying 1,027 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per run. He added 31 catches for 282 yards during the regular season while sharing the backfield with Zach Charbonnet, who added 730 yards on the ground and another 140 yards receiving.
But it was after Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL in the Divisional Round of the playoffs that Walker excelled. He rushed for 313 yards in the postseason while scoring four touchdowns en route to earning Super Bowl MVP honors in Seattle’s 29-13 win over New England.
Coach Andy Reid and General Manager Brett Veach each stressed the need for more explosiveness in the backfield during their recent press conferences, and Walker offers just that. He posted 33 runs of 10 or more yards last season, ranking sixth in the league. He averaged 13.2 miles per hour on rushes last season, ranking third behind Keaton Mitchell (14.49) and Devon Achane (13.42).
Report: Travis Kelce Coming Back for Year 14
Nothing is normally easy with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his decision to return for his 14th season in the NFL proved no different over the last few days.
This is the first time in Kelce’s NFL career that he’s been a free agent, and a report over the weekend speculated that Kelce could consider offers from other NFL teams, assuming he’s returning for another season.
On Monday, multiple reports indicated that Kelce has decided to return for another campaign and that he and the club are finalizing a deal for a contract that would pay him up to $15 million for 2026, including incentives.
Kelce maintained throughout the 2025 season that he planned to decide on 2026 before the beginning of free agency. It appears he’s informed the Chiefs of his decision; now all that’s left is for him to share it publicly.
It’s been expected that Kelce would announce his plans on the “New Heights” podcast he hosts with brother Jason Kelce. The next episode is scheduled for release on Wednesday.
Chiefs 2026 Free Agents
| Player | Type | Status |
| P Matt Araiza | ERFA | |
| WR Hollywood Brown | UFA | |
| S Deon Bush | UFA | |
| G/C Mike Caliendo | RFA | Chiefs do not intend to make a restricted free agent tender offer |
| LB Leo Chenal | UFA | |
| LB Jack Cochrane | UFA | |
| S Bryan Cook | UFA | Agreed to terms with Bengals 3/9/26 |
| DE Mike Danna | UFA | |
| S Mike Edwards | UFA | |
| RB Kareem Hunt | UFA | |
| RB Keaontay Ingram | RFA | |
| CB Nazeeh Johnson | UFA | |
| TE Travis Kelce | UFA | Reportedly returning to Chiefs for 2026 |
| QB Gardner Minshew | UFA | Agreed to terms with Cardinals 3/9/26 |
| DT Derrick Nnadi | UFA | |
| DE Charles Omenihu | UFA | |
| RB Isiah Pacheco | UFA | |
| DT Mike Pennel | UFA | |
| RB Dameon Pierce | UFA | |
| WR Nikko Remigio | ERFA | |
| DE Janarius Robinson | UFA | |
| CB Eric Scott Jr. | ERFA | |
| WR JuJu Smith-Schuster | UFA | |
| RT Jawaan Taylor | UFA | |
| WR Tyquan Thornton | UFA | |
| DT Jerry Tiller | UFA | |
| TE Robert Tonyan | UFA | |
| CB Jaylen Watson | UFA | Agreed to terms with Rams 3/9/26 |
| CB Joshua Williams | UFA | |
| LS James Winchester | UFA | Agreed to extension 3/7/26 |
