{"id":282888,"date":"2026-05-11T14:33:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T18:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=282888"},"modified":"2026-05-11T14:33:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T18:33:02","slug":"jadeveon-clowney-chiefs-danna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/05\/11\/jadeveon-clowney-chiefs-danna\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs Expected to Target Top Veteran Free Agent After Losing Mike Danna"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs lost outside linebacker Mike Danna to the Bills, but the team could target veteran Jadeveon Clowney as a possible replacement. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo<\/a> isn’t ruling out a reunion between Clowney and the Dallas Cowboys, but the Chiefs might make more sense in their situation. The team also lost Leo Chenal to the Commanders this free agency as the Chiefs didn’t have the financial means to compensate his contract. With Danna gone, this leaves Jadeveon Clowney and Joey Bosa<\/a> as the top edge rushers left in the market.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs wouldn’t need to pay Clowney the top dollar anymore at this stage in his career. Selected as a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the former South Carolina product put up promising numbers in Dallas, recording 8.5 sacks, 41 total tackles (24 solo), four passes defended, and one forced fumble. Clowney isn’t in his prime anymore, but with that production, it would make the Chiefs forget about losing<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Mike Danna to their AFC rival.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The Chiefs declined the fifth-year option for Felix Anudike-Uzomah<\/a>, so it’d make sense for Clowney to take over in his spot even if it’s just for a year. Star defensive lineman Chris Jones’ life would be made easier since it’s been pretty much on him to keep this unit together, and now that Danna is gone, they need to address the depth.<\/p>\n

\"Jadeveon
Main Photo: Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com-USA TODAY NETWORK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chiefs Expected to Target Top Veteran Free Agent Jadeveon Clowney After Losing Mike Danna<\/h2>\n

The Chiefs pursuing Jadeveon Clowney wouldn’t be the worst idea. The team has options to address the depth concerns, as Ashton Gillotte and R Mason Thomas are listed as the current backups. Even though Thomas is showing flashes as a rookie<\/a>, it would be beneficial to help George Karlaftis on the field with a proven veteran.<\/p>\n

Other Possible Fits<\/h2>\n

Los Angeles Chargers<\/h3>\n

The Chargers barely made any moves during free agency other than signing Dalvin Tomlinson to make up for the loss of Otito Ogbonnia. They’re still in need of a reliable defensive end to help Teair Tart on the defensive front. The team signed UDFA Jahmeer Carter<\/a> for depth, but he isn’t going to be starting. Jadeveon Clowney is ready to start for this unit to help Tart upgrade the edge rush. Even though the team lost Jesse Minter to Baltimore, they should still prioritize making this defense the best yet.<\/p>\n

Clowney won’t be the long-term fixture, but it’d be a great benefit, especially for Khalil Mack, who is returning to hopefully win a ring this year.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, the Rams are predicted<\/a> to target Maxx Crosby, but they won’t have enough money and would probably settle for Jadeveon Clowney during the 2026 season. The team overhauled its secondary unit, trading for Trent McDuffie<\/a> and signing Jaylen Watson. Between Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske on the defensive front, Clowney won’t need to start, but it’d help to have a veteran on the roster to strengthen their chances for a Super Bowl run.<\/p>\n

When you have veterans Davante Adams and Matthew Stafford, Clowney might be the missing puzzle piece to win a ring for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n

New England Patriots<\/h3>\n

Speaking of rings, the New England Patriots were close to securing a Super Bowl during Drake Maye’s rookie year. After signing Dre’Mont Jones in free agency<\/a>, they could use some depth at the defensive line. Jadeveon Clowney won’t get starting reps in New England, but maybe he can rotate with Christian Barmore and Milton Williams. These two have been dominant, but why not get a veteran to make their life easier this season?<\/p>\n

Head Coach Mike Vrabel has not been afraid of making upgrades at the defensive position. The team selected a high-stakes draft pick, Gabe Jacas<\/a>, so the future is bright there defensively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost defensive end Mike Danna to the Bills, which means the team could target Jadeveon Clowney to replace him. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":282890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"<\/smartframe-embed>","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,3,19,16,18,34,5,6431],"tags":[7705,7642,7811,7422,1473,7466,358,7429,5855,32031,7394],"class_list":["post-282888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-bills","category-cowboys","category-chiefs","category-chargers","category-rams","category-patriots","category-nfl-teams","tag-buffalo-bills-news","tag-chargers-featured","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-jadeveon-clowney","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-news","tag-khalil-mack","tag-los-angeles-chargers-news","tag-maxx-crosby","tag-mike-danna","tag-new-england-patriots-news"],"modified_by":"Anthony Palacios","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282888"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282912,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282888\/revisions\/282912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}