Washington Commanders Free Agency: Chiefs LB Leo Chenal agrees to 3-year deal
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - OCTOBER 19: Leo Chenal #54 of the Kansas City Chiefs defends during an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on October 19, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesThe NFL's legal tampering period started at noon today, and the Washington Commanders have reportedly agreed to terms on a 3-year deal, $24.5 million with Kansas City Chiefs LB Leo Chenal. The Commanders are looking for upgrades at almost every position on the roster after a disappointing 5-12 season, and the defense has been the focus so far in free agency. Daronte Jones is taking over for fired DC Joe Whitt Jr, and will be calling plays for the first time at the NFL level. Head coach Dan Quinn took over defensive playcalling from Whitt in the middle of the season, but has said Jones will run his own defense.
Chenal is a young linebacker who is now looking to win a starting job in the Commanders new defense. Bobby Wagner is a future Hall of Famer, and has been leading the defense for the past two seasons, but he is set to become a free agent tomorrow. The Commanders are bringing back vetetan Frankie Luvu and third-year LB Jordan Magee to pair with Chenal.
Sources: Former #Chiefs LB Leo Chenal is signing with the #Commanders for 3 years $24.75M.
- Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 10, 2026
Chenal, just 25, won two Super Bowls in Kansas City and was a starter for 44 games. A strong addition. pic.twitter.com/QgwOtreuiM
Leo Chenal was drafted with pick 103 of round 3 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.99 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 3 out of 2410 LB from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/unnXwkfpiT#RASpic.twitter.com/pPAYfWdtih
- RAS.football (@MathBomb) February 22, 2023
One of my fav plays from watching Chenal a few weeks back (wrote about him a bit here too - https://t.co/kz6Tr7TWmx)
- Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) March 10, 2026
Standing up on the LOS between the C and LG, takes on a double team, breaks through it, makes the stop. Not many LBs do that pic.twitter.com/Ss8tKozDiK
| Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Tackles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | Pos | G | GS | Int | Yds | IntTD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | FRTD | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sfty | AV | Awards |
| 2022 | 22 | KAN | NFL | RLB | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 35 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 23 | KAN | NFL | LB | 17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 65 | 40 | 25 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2024 | 24 | KAN | NFL | RLB | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 60 | 40 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2025 | 25 | KAN | NFL | LB | 14 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 58 | 25 | 33 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4 Yrs | 65 | 44 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 218 | 124 | 94 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 21 | |||||
| 17 Game Avg | 17 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 | 57 | 32 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
Generated 3/10/2026.