The Kansas City Chiefs have real reasons for optimism heading into training camp. Patrick Mahomes is expected to be full-go when quarterbacks and rookies report on July 24, less than eight months removed from the torn ACL and LCL that ended his 2025 season. But health at quarterback doesn’t fix everything, and one hole on the roster still needs closing before Kansas City can call itself a real contender again: edge rusher.
It’s the kind of gap that shows up fast on Sundays. A team can have the best quarterback on the planet and still lose games if it can’t get after the other team’s passer.
Chiefs need to bring in a veteran edge rusher
Kansas City has options, and the best one still sitting on the market is Jadeveon Clowney. He’s 33, he’s hungry, and according to Click2Houston, he’s not slowing down anytime soon.
“I just came off a great season, looking forward to doing it again,” Clowney said. “And, you know, continue to prove to people and show the balance. I walk in every year and play well on every scheme and every team I’ve been on. I want to continue to do that going into year 13.”
The tape backs him up. Clowney totaled 8.5 sacks for the Cowboys last season in just 13 games, adding 10 quarterback hits and four batted passes — all while playing under 44% of Dallas’ defensive snaps. Among nearly 200 players with at least 200 snaps as a pass rusher, CBS Sports notes Clowney ranked fourth in pressure rate at 19.1%, trailing only Will Anderson Jr., Nik Bonitto and Micah Parsons — and running ahead of players who signed contracts worth well over $100 million. He also led the league among non-off-ball linebackers in run-stop rate, making a tackle on 21.9% of his run snaps.
| Pass Rusher | 2025 Pressure Rate | Current Contract Status |
|---|---|---|
| Will Anderson Jr. | 21.0% | 3 years, $150 million |
| Nik Bonitto | 19.4% | 4 years, $106 million |
| Micah Parsons | 19.4% | 4 years, $186 million |
| Jadeveon Clowney | 19.1% | Unsigned |
Clowney wouldn’t need to start for the Chiefs to matter. He’s been most effective the last few seasons in a managed role — heavy third-down usage, situational rushing, snap counts kept low enough to stay fresh into December. That’s a fit for a defense trying to protect a quarterback coming back from a serious knee injury and manage a roster with plenty of other needs.
Worth noting: CBS Sports pegged five teams as the likeliest landing spots for Clowney this summer — the Texans, Lions, Packers, Seahawks and Bears. Kansas City wasn’t among them, and a Minnesota Star Tribune report also lists the Vikings among the teams still checking in. The Chiefs aren’t the favorites here. But NFL history is full of teams that called first and walked away with the player anyway.
What if they can’t get Jadeveon Clowney?
If Clowney signs elsewhere, Kansas City still has a thinning pool to pick from. Kyle Van Noy, Haason Reddick, Von Miller, Leonard Floyd and Derek Barnett are all still unsigned. Reddick stands out. He’s not far removed from back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances, and he’s got a personal history with this exact matchup — he reached the Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2022 and lost to the Chiefs, got traded to the Jets in 2024, then watched Philadelphia win it all the following season without him. The last two years haven’t been kind to Reddick statistically. A change of scenery, and a shot at the team that beat him in his best season, could bring some juice back.
Miller is the other name worth a second look. He managed nine sacks last season in a backup role on a Commanders defense that rarely led late in games — meaning there was no garbage-time padding involved. What he got, he earned snap by snap.
If Kansas City doesn’t add a veteran, the burden falls on two young players: second-year edge Ashton Gillotte and rookie R Mason Thomas. According to ESPN’s Nate Taylor, the Chiefs haven’t signed a veteran edge rusher as of this writing, which puts real weight on that pairing.
“Last season, Gillotte improved in the second half of the season, finishing with 1.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits and an interception,” Taylor wrote. “He’s the safe option. But many veterans have been impressed with Thomas’ quickness and speed off the edge, which makes him a type of pass rusher they haven’t had in many years. If Thomas can prove competent in setting the edge, he could be an intriguing, complementary rusher with George Karlaftis’ power.”
That’s the hope, anyway. Gillotte logged 24 pressures and eight quarterback hits to go with his sack total last year, per the Chiefs’ own pre-camp breakdown, and Thomas arrives with big college production — 15.5 sacks over 23 games at Oklahoma. Neither has proven it at the NFL level yet, and betting a season on it without a fallback plan is the kind of thing that can hamstring a defense in November if the growing pains run long.
Kansas City is about to open camp with a healthy-looking Mahomes and a real shot to answer its doubters — Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated left the Chiefs off his list of 14 Super Bowl contenders this month, pointing to the offensive line and the losses of Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie as reasons for concern. Edge rusher is fixable before Week 1. Whether Kansas City treats it that way over the next few weeks says a lot about how seriously the front office takes this season.
