Chiefs just brought back Derrick Nnadi and opened a bunch of questions

The Kansas City Chiefs decided to bring back a familiar face in a minor trade on Sunday before active roster cuts are due early in the week. Derrick Nnadi is returning in a swap of late-round draft assets in 2027.

While the trade back for Nnadi, who left this offseason in free agency to sign a one-year deal with the Jets, hardly moves the meter in the bigger picture, it does bring back a familiar face who can step right back into his role to start the season in Week 1

For the Chiefs, a reunion with Nnadi bolsters the run defense with a known quantity, giving them nose tackle depth in the face of other lesser experienced or pro-ready options. There is, at least, some value there for those wanting to view things through a positive lens.

That said, Nnadi is a limited lineman whose playing time has fallen off a cliff. His Pro Football Focus grades for the last three years confirm the eye test, with marks of 37.0 (2022), 41.4 (2023), and 40.8 (2024), while his snap count fell from 46 percent to 20 percent last year.

All of which brings up a few questions in the wake of the trade.

Question No. 1: Did the Chiefs really have to trade for Nnadi?

It's hard to believe the Chiefs could not have just re-signed Nnadi at any point in the next few days if they wanted to bring him back following a likely release from the Jets.

The Jets already had too many players along the defensive interior, especially after trading for Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips in recent days. Nnadi was going to be cut along with other tackles, and it's hard to believe that another team was going to bite.

Nnadi was signed to bolster the position, but undrafted free agents had leaped over him on the depth chart. Given how anemic his on-field impact has been in recent seasons for the Chiefs, was there really another team ready to pounce on his availability as a limited lineman inside?

Queston No. 2: Why waste the little return received for Skyy Moore?

The Chiefs literally just worked this same move in their favor when they shipped off an unusable asset in Skyy Moore to the San Francisco 49ers just days ago. The Niners traded them a 2027 sixth-round pick in exchange for Moore and a seventh-rounder from that same year. Essentially, the Chiefs just traded Moore for Nnadi, but again, it's hard to believe the Chiefs had competitors here for Nnadi's services.

Question No. 3: Why not just re-sign Nnadi in the first place?

This is the biggest question of all. The Jets originally signed Nnadi to a one-year deal worth just over $1.4 million. That's peanuts, just barely above the veteran minimum for someone with his playing experience at $1.255 million. It's very hard to believe that the Jets outbid the Chiefs back in March.

Last year, the Chiefs were already quite generous with Nnadi by giving him $2 million for a single season, so the discount taken with the Jets (and the fact that the Chiefs let him walk in the first place) showed the depreciating market here overall. In short, Nnadi feels more like a veteran the Chiefs could reach to in case of injuries, not someone to trade for with roster cuts looming.

Overall, it's just hard to see what Nnadi adds that wasn't readily available on the open market. Nnadi is an exceptional citizen off the field whose civic contributions have and should be celebrated, but it's hard to see why a trade was needed. Clearly, the Chiefs wanted a certain level of comfort at the position, and going with the player you know the most is what Steve Spagnuolo wanted.