Jaguars and Chiefs acquire defensive players with Super Bowl rings

Derrick Nnadi (Instagram)

There have been two trades over the last 10 days involving players with Super Bowl rings with the Kansas City Chiefs. On August 17, the Jacksonville Jaguars acquired defensive tackle  Khalen Saunders of St. Louis, Missouri from the New Orleans Saints for center Luke Fortner of Cleveland, Ohio. Then on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs brought back defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi of Virginia Beach, Virginia in a trade with the New York Jets.

Saunders is joining his third National Football League team. He previously spent four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2019 to 2022, and the last two seasons with the New Orleans Saints from 2023 to 2024. While with the Chiefs, Saunders won Super Bowl LIV and Super Bowl LVII. This past season with the Saints, Saunders had 43 combined tackles (18 solo tackles and 25 assisted tackles), three tackles for a loss, five quarterback hits, three pass deflections, two sacks, and one interception for 37 yards.

Nnadi is returning to the Chiefs after playing eight seasons in Kansas City from 2018 to 2024. He had signed a one-year deal worth $1.4 million with the Jets on March 16, but never played for them. The Chiefs are also receiving a seventh round pick in 2027, and the Jets are receiving a sixth round pick in 2027. Nnadi won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs in 2020, 2023, and 2024.

This past season in Kansas City, Nnadi had 11 combined tackles (three solo tackles and eight assisted tackles). In 115 games with the Chiefs, Nnadi has 233 combined tackles (124 assisted tackles and 109 solo tackles), seven tackles for a loss, eight quarterback hits, five sacks, two pass deflections, one forced fumble and one interception. The pass deflections came in a 24-17 Chiefs win over the Los Angeles Chargers on November 18, 2019 and in a 17-9 Chiefs win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 17, 2023. The interception also came in the Chiefs win over the Chargers six years ago. The forced fumble came in a 34-30 Chiefs win over the Detroit Lions on September 29, 2019.