Chiefs ink Danna to multi-year deal

The Kansas City Chiefs sure up their defensive line by signing defensive end Mike Danna to a three-year contract worth $24 million.

The Kansas City Chiefs are bringing back one of their own in veteran defensive end Mike Danna. It is reportedly a three-year, 24-million-dollar deal, which shows how far Danna has come since being drafted as a fifth-round draft pick in 2020. 

Danna started his collegiate career at Central Michigan before transferring to Michigan for his redshirt senior season and experienced a career season as a starter for the Chiefs in 2023. Danna finished the season with 6.5 sacks and 41 pressures, according to PFF. 

After signing defensive tackle Chris Jones to a five-year deal earlier this offseason, the Chiefs are returning their entire defensive line after also signing defensive tackles Mike Pennel, Tershawn Wharton and Derrick Nnadi to one-year deals. It was important to keep their potent pass rush intact with younger players such as cornerbacks Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams and Nazhee Johnson filling the hole left by L’Jarius Sneed. 

The Chiefs finished second in the NFL in team sacks with 57 sacks, which was three behind the Baltimore Ravens. Danna finished fourth on the team in sacks and after tallying 2.5 in his rookie season, he has set a new career high every year that he has been in the league. With a younger defensive backfield, getting to the quarterback quickly is paramount. 

Many around the league and Chiefs Kingdom viewed this as something that was a foregone conclusion, but it was a huge hole on the roster, nonetheless. With defensive end Charles Omenihu tearing his ACL in the AFC Championship Game, his timetable is unknown at this time. 

The other edges on the roster in the meantime are fellow incumbent starter George Karlaftis, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, B.J. Thompson and Malik Herring. The hope is that Anudike-Uzomah can have a large increase in playing time as a former first-round draft pick. 

Anudike-Uzomah and Danna are a perfect complement to each other though, because Anudike-Uzomah is regarded as a lighter, outside-only pass-rusher type. Danna spent 234 of his 745 snaps along the A-gap, B-gap and in the three-tech. Danna’s versatility gives defensive line coach Joe Cullen the ability to mix and match in how he implements edge players like Anudike-Uzomah and Thompson. 

The three-year part of this deal gives the Chiefs some stability in the room that will have Danna, Karlaftis, Anudike-Uzomah and Thompson all under contract for the next three seasons. With the Omenihu injury, you could still make the argument that they need one more body, but Danna returning will help them get by before he returns if they do not choose to add to the room. Omenihu was third on the team with seven sacks in just 11 games. 

It was important to get this deal signed before the draft, which is three weeks away. Defensive end was a glaring need and the Chiefs had already used the first round in the 2022 and 2023 drafts at the position. This signing should now allow the Chiefs to focus on taking the best wide receiver or offensive tackle at 32.