{"id":852587,"date":"2026-04-04T03:42:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T03:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/852587\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T03:42:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T03:42:30","slug":"chiefs-star-was-nearly-traded-to-new-york-giants-before-taking-pay-cut-to-stay-in-kansas-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/852587\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs star was nearly traded to New York Giants before taking pay cut to stay in Kansas City"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JAKE FENNER, US SPORTS WRITER<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 13:09 EDT, 3 April 2026 | Updated: 13:12 EDT, 3 April 2026 <\/p>\n

The Kansas<\/a> City Chiefs were willing to part with a key defensive piece on their team, only for the deal moving him to an NFC struggler eventually collapsing.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs parted with one of their most important players when they traded cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles<\/a> Rams for a package of draft picks.<\/p>\n

Kansas City general manager Brett Veach seemed primed to move on from another player, only for the athlete himself to change his mind.<\/p>\n

According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the New York Giants<\/a> attempted to pry away linebacker Drue Tranquill from the Chiefs.<\/p>\n

‘The linebacker that the Giants actually were going to trade for, from the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> – it seemed to be before the start of free agency – Drue Tranquill,’ Raanan said on the ‘Breaking Big Blue’ podcast.<\/p>\n

However, when facing the prospect of swapping Arrowhead Stadium for MetLife Stadium, Tranquill ‘ended up staying in Kansas City, taking a pay cut to stay.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The New York Giants attempted to trade for Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill<\/p>\n

\"But <\/p>\n

But Tranquill (23) rejected the move and re-structured his contract to stay in Kansas City<\/p>\n

\"Changing <\/p>\n

Changing Tranquill’s deal helped the Chiefs free up cap space to sign players like Travis Kelce<\/p>\n

Raanan added, ‘Seems to be something he wanted to do. He didn\u2019t want to leave there.’<\/p>\n

Tranquill agreed to a restructuring in the final year of his contract, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo.<\/p>\n

This reduced his base pay from $6million to $3.5million – with $3m guaranteed in the deal.<\/p>\n

Doing this dropped Tranquill’s cap number by two-and-a-half million dollars – allowing the Chiefs to make major free agent signings.<\/p>\n

Among the deals Kansas City inked this offseason included tight end Travis Kelce, who returned on a one-year $12million deal.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs also re-loaded with running back and Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III and safety Alohi Gilman.<\/p>\n

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