On Monday night, just when it felt like the Kansas City Chiefs had made enough moves for the first day of negotiating with free agents, the news broke of a veteran signing for the defense and its secondary — a position group that will officially be moving on without safety Bryan Cook and cornerbacks Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams.
Former Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens safety Alohi Gilman is signing a three-year deal in Kansas City, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The 28-year-old veteran will be the latest free-agent acquisition at that position to come into the Chiefs’ defense, paid to be a leader of the unit, following in the footsteps of former Kansas City safeties Justin Reid and Tyrann Mathieu.
After six seasons developing into an every-down player with Los Angeles, Gilman was traded to the Ravens after five games of the 2025 season. He started in Baltimore’s remaining 12 games, which allowed star safety Kyle Hamilton to be weaponized around the line of scrimmage and in the middle of the field without sacrificing a reliable player over the top.
For the majority of his snaps, he played free safety, and that has been the case for his entire career. Since becoming a full-time starter in the Chargers’ secondary during the 2023 season, he has racked up 23 passes defended with only three interceptions. That points to his help defense over the top, but he also has five forced fumbles on his career resume.
He is a steady playmaker, one who will lead a group of unproven safeties that feature former fourth-round picks in Jaden Hicks and Chamarri Conner. Both will have something to prove entering the 2026 season, and now Gilman eases the pressure on either to step into the top-dog role Bryan Cook — who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals — assumed from Justin Reid.
This is an important move by general manager Brett Veach to ensure the defensive backfield has the experience defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo seems to covet from his lead safety. The three-year contract is a strong investment for Gilman’s services, but one that includes just $15 million fully guaranteed over that time.
