Bryan Cook departed for the Bengals today, and the Chiefs have a host of secondary holes to fill. One of them will come from Baltimore. Alohi Gilman is signing with the Chiefs, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.
Kansas City is giving the former Charger a three-year, $24.75MM deal that includes $15MM fully guaranteed. Kansas City is also bringing back wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, veteran insider Jordan Schultz tweets. Thornton is coming back on a two-year, $11MM deal, per Schultz.
Among a glut of starter-level safeties hitting the market Monday, Gilman played out a Chargers-designed contract in Baltimore. The Ravens traded Odafe Oweh in a deal that brought Gilman to Maryland. Although Day 3 picks were exchanged in that swap, Oweh fetched a monster Commanders deal today while Gilman will be tied to a midlevel Chiefs pact. That could represent a nice value play for Kansas City, which saw Cook land a three-year, $40.25MM Cincinnati accord.
Gilman will join fellow former Charger defenders Drue Tranquill and Kristian Fulton in Kansas City (though, the latter is a clear-cut release candidate). Entering an age-29 season, Gilman is a seventh-year veteran who has started for the past three seasons. The Chargers turned to the former sixth-round pick in 2023, and a solid contract year led to a two-year, $10.13MM deal as a 2024 free agent. Gilman started all 28 games he played on that contract, jumping into the Ravens’ lineup immediately after the October trade.
Cook started for three seasons in Kansas City, but he follows Justin Reid, Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill as one-contract Chiefs safeties in recent years. The Chiefs also lost three corners — Trent McDuffie (traded), Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams — in recent days. Moves to replace that trio will be needed, though Fulton, Chamarri Conner and Nohl Williams remain on the roster.
Thornton played a bigger role early in the season, with Rashee Rice on the shelf due to a suspension. Xavier Worthy also missed early-season time due to a shoulder injury. A Patriots second-round washout, Thornton made some notable contributions as a deep threat for Patrick Mahomes. Thornton averaged a whopping 23.1 yards per catch last season, catching 19 passes for a career-high 438 yards and three touchdowns.
The Chiefs have Marquise Brown unsigned while Rice’s future is murky due to domestic violence allegations surfacing. Rice is also in a contract year, while Worthy is signed through 2027. JuJu Smith-Schuster joins Brown as a free agent, and 2025 fourth-rounder Jalen Royals did not see much action as a rookie.
Give Royals some run!