{"id":516319,"date":"2026-03-11T04:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T04:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/516319\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T04:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T04:12:10","slug":"source-leo-chenal-agrees-to-3-year-deal-with-commanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/516319\/","title":{"rendered":"Source: Leo Chenal agrees to 3-year deal with Commanders"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

John KeimMar 10, 2026, 07:38 PM ET<\/p>\n

Close<\/a>John Keim covers the Washington Commanders for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2013 after a stint with the Washington Post. He started covering the team in 1994 for the Journal Newspapers and later for the Washington Examiner. He has authored\/co-authored four books. You can also listen to him on ‘The John Keim Report’, which airs on ESPN Richmond radio.<\/p>\n

Multiple Authors<\/p>\n

The Washington Commanders<\/a> filled a glaring need on defense Tuesday, agreeing to a three-year deal with former Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> linebacker Leo Chenal<\/a>, a source confirmed to ESPN.<\/p>\n

Chenal will make $24.75 million, according to NFL Network.<\/p>\n

Chenal becomes the fourth defensive player Washington has added during the legal tampering period, joining end Odafe Oweh<\/a>, tackle Tim Settle<\/a> and cornerback Amik Robertson<\/a>. The Commanders finished with the 27th scoring defense and were last in yards this past season.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n

2 Related<\/p>\n

They wanted to improve their speed in the front seven, and Chenal provides them with someone considered a strong blitzer — a key attribute in new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones’ system.<\/p>\n

Bobby Wagner<\/a> started at linebacker the past two seasons but remains unsigned. The Commanders also have Frankie Luvu<\/a> and Jordan Magee<\/a>, both of whom are expected to play key roles.<\/p>\n

Chenal, 25, grew into being one of the Chiefs’ best rotational defenders, a linebacker known for his strength and tenacity to limit an opposing team’s rushing attack. Last season, he recorded his first career interception, an impressive highlight against Baltimore Ravens<\/a> quarterback Lamar Jackson<\/a>. He also recorded 58 tackles, five quarterback hits, two sacks and two pass breakups.<\/p>\n

What to know for the NFL offseason<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tracking signings, cuts, trades, more<\/a>
\u2022 Every team’s offseason guide<\/a> | Schedule<\/a>
\u2022 Top free agents<\/a> | Best draft prospects<\/a>
\u2022 Top trade candidates<\/a> | Deepest positions<\/a>
\u2022 Franchise tags<\/a> | Coach hirings<\/a> | Draft order<\/a><\/p>\n

One of Chenal’s best traits is his versatility. Longtime Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo at times, depending on certain matchups, utilized Chenal as an edge rusher, a two-stance defensive tackle, a blitzer and a spy, a role he excelled in against Jackson and Buffalo Bills<\/a> quarterback Josh Allen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs selected Chenal with the 103rd pick in the 2022 draft. He proved to be a prominent member of one of the franchise’s most impressive draft classes, helping them win consecutive Super Bowls. In 10 playoff games, Chenal recorded 31 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble, a turnover that occurred in Super Bowl LVIII.<\/p>\n

In four seasons, Chenal never played more than 53% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps. But he contributed to the team’s success in those four years by having 16 quarterback hits, seven sacks and six pass breakups.<\/p>\n

NFL reporter Jordan Schultz first reported news on Chenal’s agreement with the Commanders.<\/p>\n

ESPN’s Nate Taylor contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John KeimMar 10, 2026, 07:38 PM ET CloseJohn Keim covers the Washington Commanders for ESPN. He joined ESPN…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516320,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-516319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}