The departure of Nick Allegretti means the Kansas City Chiefs sorely need to add interior line depth, whether through free agency or the 2024 NFL Draft.
The free agent pool is less than it was a month ago, but Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder believes free agent offensive tackle Nick Gates is a good fit for Kansas City.
In fact, Holder thinks Gates may be a future starter for the two-time defending Super Bowl champs.
“when the defending back-to-back champions have a good starting interior offensive line, they lost Nick Allegretti to the Commanders, and Allegretti was an important part of their Super Bowl success when filling in for Joe Thuney. “This leaves Kansas City with only one backup guard,” Holder tweeted on April 7.
“Coincidentally, Gates played in Washington last fall and while he didn’t last long there, the five-year pro could be a good second-string option seeing as he has experience playing four out of five spots along the line,” Holder went on to say. “Also, that gives the club an option to replace Trey Smith, who is entering a contract year, next offseason if Smith walks.”
Nick Gates Played Multiple Positions While in the NFC East
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Gates began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska in 2018. In May of that year, the New York Giants signed Gates. After the 2018 preseason, Gates did not appear in any games for New York during his first year.
Gates spent four seasons with the Giants, appearing in 44 regular-season games and starting 29 of them. According to PFF, he started at every offensive line position during that time period.
During his career with the Giants, Gates, 28, allowed 36 total quarterback pressures (29 hurries, 5 hits, and 2 sacks) and received 12 penalties.
Gates entered free agency during the 2023 offseason and signed a three-year, $16 million contract with the Washington Commanders. Gates, the team’s starting center last season, allowed 21 total quarterback pressures (10 hurries, 6 hits, 5 sacks) and had four penalties called against him in 10 games.
The Commanders dismissed Gates on March 13, the first day of the legal tampering period for free agency.
Nick Gates Would Provide Quality Depth Along Offensive Line
Gates would be an excellent free agent addition for the Chiefs, given the right price.
Gates, who has played every position along the offensive line, would provide Kansas City with versatility that Allegretti, who has important NFL reps as a center and guard but not a tackle, could not.
If the Chiefs did not want to pay Trey Smith in 2025, Gates could be slotted in as the team’s starting right guard. As a result, Gates might also benefit the two-time defending Super Bowl winners in the long run.
With that stated, if the Chiefs want to acquire offensive line depth through free agency, they will most likely wait until after the draft. Starting May 2, free agents will no longer have an impact on the NFL’s compensatory system. Furthermore, the team may want to see what additions they can make to the offensive line through the draft before signing someone from the free agent pool.
The Chiefs presently have $19.2 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap.
The team’s current backup offensive lineman are Mike Caliendo, Lucas Niang, and Chukwuebuka Godrick.
