The Kansas City Chiefs entered the offseason with three of their top five defensive ends under contract. George Karlaftis, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, and Charles Omenihu remain under contract, while the other two were free agents.

The Chiefs understood the importance of having a rotational defensive line and re-signed their starter.

The Kansas City Chiefs re-signed their starting defensive end

The Chiefs re-signed Mike Danna to a 3-year, $24 million contract extension. Danna will be in his fifth year in the league and has 128 tackles, 17 TFLs, 17 sacks, and four forced fumbles in 59 games and 23 starts.

The Chiefs tendered their other free-agent defensive end.

The Kansas City Chiefs tendered their free-agent defensive end

Malik Herring was an exclusive rights free agent, meaning he played less than three years of accrued experience in the NFL. The team can tender him, but that is the only option, and he cannot negotiate with another team unless he gets released.

Also, if the team offers the ERFA a one-year deal, the player can accept the offer or sit out for the season. If the team doesn’t tender the player, they become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.

In short, the Chiefs officially tendered Herring and will return to Kansas City on a one-year, $985,000 deal.

He spent the last three seasons in Kansas City.

Malik Herring has been with the Kansas City Chiefs for the last three seasons

Herring signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent after going undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Herring missed the entire rookie season because of an ACL tear he suffered during the Senior Bowl.

Herring made the 53-man roster in his second season as the sixth defensive end on their roster. Since he was the sixth defensive end on the depth chart, he didn’t play much in 2022, playing seven games. He had six tackles and one fumble recovery in 88 snaps.

Herring, once again, made the 53-man roster in his third season as the fourth/fifth defensive end on the roster. He didn’t play much in 2023, playing seven games and starting one. He had ten tackles, two TFLs, 1.5 sacks, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble in 163 snaps. He also had four tackles in four playoff games.