Kansas City is bringing back a familiar face.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Jets are trading defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi to the Chiefs.
New York and Kansas City are swapping conditional 2027 sixth and seventh-round picks to complete the deal.
Nnadi, 29, had been with the Chiefs for his entire career before signing with the Jets as a free agent this offseason. A third-round pick in 2018, Nnadi has appeared in 115 games with 87 starts. He appeared in all 17 games with one start for Kansas City last season, playing 20 percent of defensive snaps.
The Jets have announced their first cuts on the way to setting an initial 53-man roster.
The team waived six players on Saturday. They’ll have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to make the rest of their moves.
Cornerback Mario Goodrich, offensive tackle Samuel Jackson, tight end Neal Johnson, wide receiver Dymere Miller, defensive tackle Fatorma Mullbah, and wider receiver Pokey Wilson were the players let go on Saturday.
Goodrich played four games for the Eagles in 2023, Jackson played in the UFL, and Wilson saw time in the CFL. The other three former Jets have no regular season experience.
Jets backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor had his knee scoped earlier this month and his availability for the start of the regular season has been in question for the last couple of weeks.
After Friday night’s preseason finale, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was asked about the outlook for Taylor for the Jets’ game against the Steelers. Glenn didn’t share when Taylor will return to practice, but he did express his belief that the veteran will be available on September 7.
“I can’t tell you that, but I’m confident he’ll be ready for Week 1,” Glenn said, via a transcript from the team.
The other in-house backup options to Justin Fields are Adrian Martinez and Brady Cook. Cook started on Friday and went 13-of-19 with an interception and Martinez was 7-of-14 for 86 yards and an interception. Neither player has any regular season experience and the Jets worked out C.J. Beathard and Nathan Peterman recently, so the team could make a move for a more seasoned option should they start to have any doubts about Taylor’s health in the coming days.
Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips is officially a member of the Jets.
The team announced that they sent 2026 and 2027 sixth-round picks to the Vikings for Phillips and a 2027 seventh-round pick on Thursday. The deal was agreed to on Wednesday.
In addition to the Phillips announcement, the Jets announced three other moves. Defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis and cornerback Ryan Cooper have been released while defensive lineman Rashad Weaver has been placed on injured reserve.
The Jets will have many more cuts to make in the coming days as they work to set their initial 53-man roster by Tuesday’s deadline.
In five days, all rosters must drop from a maximum of 90 players to 53. And there’s a viable alternative to cutting players and getting nothing in return.
Players who are destined to be visited by “The Turk” could be traded instead.
We’re already seeing it. The Chiefs dealt former second-round receiver Skyy Moore to the 49ers, for a flip of sixth- and seventh-round picks. Minnesota’s decision to trade defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, a team captain a year ago, was the alternative to what would have been an eyebrow-raising cut next week.
So expect more trades in the coming days. And, when they happen, realize that most of the players who have been traded would have been cut if their teams hadn’t found a way to make a deal.
