Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton
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Tershawn Wharton #99 of the Carolina Panthers reacts during the first quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium
One of the most significant Kansas City Chiefs players set to hit free agency next month is linebacker Leo Chenal.
The Chiefs drafted Chenal in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. In four years with Kansas City he appeared in 65 games with 44 starts, recording 218 total tackles, seven sacks, 26 quarterback pressures, six passes defensed, one interception, and three forced fumbles.
Chenal has also been a huge special teams contributor, logging over 1,000 snaps for the unit during his tenure. In Week 10 of the 2024 he was named Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking a game-winning field goal attempt against the Denver Broncos as time expired.
Chenal has played out his four-year rookie contract and will now look to secure a lucrative long-term deal. It’s not out of the question that he returns to the Chiefs, but they have several other needs at multiple positions. Mason Cameron of Pro Football Focus believes that Chenal’s ideal landing spot is elsewhere than Kansas City.
Carolina Panthers Named Top Landing Spot for Kansas City Chiefs LB Leo Chenal
If the Chiefs are unable to retain Chenal, Cameron makes a compelling case for him to join the Panthers:
“After playing a limited role as a situational run-stuffing and blitzing linebacker to start his career with the Chiefs, Chenal is ready to slot in full time elsewhere. He has posted a 70.0-plus PFF run-defense grade in each of his first four seasons.
But it’s his improvements in coverage — headlined by a career-best 72.6 PFF grade in 2025 — that should make him an enticing option. The Panthers’ linebacking corps failed to produce a single player with a PFF overall grade above 55.0 in 2025. Adding Chenal to headline the group as the new green-dot communicator would project well for a defense that ranked 23rd in EPA per play allowed this past season.”
The Chiefs were in a similar situation last offseason with defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton. While they would have liked to bring him back, his demand was simply too high. Wharton went on to sign a three-year, $45.05 million contract with the Panthers. A hamstring injury plagued him for most of the season. limiting him to nine games for Carolina in 2025.
Chiefs May Need to Decide Between Leo Chenal and Drue Tranquill
Chiefs LB Leo Chenal
GettyChiefs LB Leo Chenal could price himself out of the club’s free agent market.
Kansas City also has a decision to make with another one of its linebackers in seven-year veteran Tranquill. The coaching staff has always been high on Tranquill, but the Chiefs can save approximately $6 million in salary cap space by cutting him. That could pave the way for Chenal to return.
Tranquill has spent the last three years in Kansas City, recording 275 tackles, 8.5 sacks, four passes defensed, and one forced fumble during that time. Age could be a bit of a factor year, as he will be 31 years old at the beginning of next season, while Chenal will be 25. The Chiefs signed middle linebacker Nick Bolton to a three-year, $45 million contract extension offseason, and drafted Jeffrey Bassa in the fifth-round of last year’s draft.