Sack… sack… and crushed! The Kansas City Chiefs’s Super Bowl LIX story ended mostly with these words. Oh, and a lot of interceptions & missed catches too! The Philadelphia Eagles ensured that Andy Reid’s offense kept their foot on the sidelines as they continued to run with the football repeatedly. And the result was a brutal 22-40. With the wounds still fresh, the Chiefs are focusing on what needs to be fixed.

One area of the Chiefs that had a shaky start and remained like that throughout the season was its linebacker room. Part of the success in the 2023 season was attributed to what was touted as a smart unit. Nick Bolton was continuously praised for his instincts and studious nature by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Drue Tranquill, on the other hand, helped lead a deep playoff run by his impact on crucial downs. But this generally deep lineup was not quite in its elements as the 2024 season began.

Bolton did miss some reps in training camp with an elbow injury. And early on, Tranquill seems to be receiving somewhat different usage than last season. Despite a 2-0 start to the season, issues were visible.

In week 2, the Bengals went down and got a field goal on the opening drive of the game against the Chiefs. However, one might argue that they should have been forced to punt. Bolton dropped a possible interception on a third-and-three attempt from the Chiefs’ 43-yard line. And just like in week 1 against Baltimore, the linebackers got pushed backward early on against the run. Bolton struggled in block deconstruction. Even Tranquill struggled to get off of blocks quicker, which was quite surprising.

It seemed like both Bolton and Tranquill were late with their reactions and were missing tackle attempts that they usually do not miss. Amid this, in September the Chiefs announced to promote linebacker Cole Christiansen, who is a U.S. Military Academy graduate and Army officer-in-waiting, as the 51st member of their active roster. After graduating from West Point in 2020, the linebacker entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers. He joined Kansas City’s practice squad in 2022 and earned a Super Bowl ring that season even though he wasn’t on the 53-man active roster.

Much to his delight, this year made the jump from practice squad to standout linebacker. For an athlete who fully expected to end his football career and begin an Army career just a few years ago, it’s a remarkable feat. but according to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson on X, the Chiefs are parting ways with Christiansen. The Chiefs had already announced they had rescinded a contract tender to the LB. This means, they had terminated their exclusive rights to the athlete and set him up to be approached by other NFL clubs. However, he is not the only one who is on the chopping block.

Last year, after Kansas City’s secondary depleted due to injuries, they decided to bring back an old friend to help them: Steven Nelson. Just 6 months into retirement, the former NFL cornerback has decided to come out of it to sign with the Chiefs’ practice squad. The Chiefs were desperate to add some help in the secondary after several corners went down. The trouble started when Jaylen Watson broke his ankle back in week 7. The Chiefs then got hit with another injury when Joshua Williams was knocked out of their Week 14 game against the Chargers with a shoulder injury. Now, alongside Christiansen, the Chiefs did not renew their contract with Nelson as well.

Nelson actually started his career in Kansas City, so that familiarity was probably part of the reason why he decided to come out of retirement. Notably, Andy Reid had praised Nelson back then. “He was a good player when he was here. He came out of Oregon State with the ability to return and play corner and then he developed into a starting corner in the league. He had a nice career for the last [nine] years. It was the ability to add a little depth to that spot,” Reid had said. Overall during the second stint joining the Chiefs, he had 115 career starts and 13 interceptions.

Top Comment by Musashi

They showed who they’ve been all year. Just average with lots of questionable calls from the refs helping them lump...more

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Besides these two, LB Swayze Bozeman too wasn’t signed on by the team after his just three tackles in the Super Bowl. So, as obvious he was waiting for another team top join in. And guess what? He got another home soon, as later, the LB signed with the Bears. Now, after this new signing, all eyes shift to other players in the line.

For instance, Montrell Washington! Let us remind you that this athlete too has now hit the free-agent market just like Nelson and Christiansen. Apart from him, the other players who remained on the doubtful list got their destiny finally. This is evident in TE Anthony Firkser’s agreeing to a reserve/future contract with Andy Reid’s team last week. In addition, RB Keaontay Ingram also signed a one-year contract with the Chiefs. However, CB Nic Jones left Andy Reid’s Chiefs to sign with the Giants, as per the latest reports.

So, one by one, the Chiefs are clearing all the contract or workout situations in the team. This clearly shows how deeply he has taken the Super Bowl loss, a game for which he knows who to blame!

Applauding fans, Andy Reid accepts blame for Super Bowl loss

Andy Reid and the Chiefs were left speechless and motionless in New Orleans. They didn’t have the answer to give to their 3-peat dream. Hence, after losing, HC said, “Compliment to our fans and all the support they’ve given us. Today was a rough day, didn’t really play well in any of the phases, didn’t coach good enough. They did a nice job.”

Yes! Andy Reid admitted that his team wasn’t prepared for that Super Bowl level as they should be. He blamed himself for that. In addition, the 66-year-old, who will be celebrating his birthday next month, slammed the other coaches as well. He accepted that the other coaches too didn’t perform at the level they were expected to. Hence, he promised to come back even stronger the next time, learning from the mistakes.

But amidst these, all he wants the support from the Chiefs’s community. That’s why after losing on February 9, he added, “Compliment to our fans and all the support they’ve given us.” He further wished that moving forward their support would remain with him and his team forever. That’s what even the Cheifs’s QB thinks. Yes! Patrick Mahomes, who got himself a new hairdo after the SB loss, also admitted the same. Taking up the X, he took the guilt by saying, “I let y’all down today.” However, he concluded with a simple message: the Chiefs will be back! So, let’s see how they are approaching the 2025 season. The new shift-ins and shift-outs have already started in Andy Reid’s team!