Chiefs Super Bowl starter reveals why he decided to ditch Kansas City to sign with Commanders in free agency

After spending the first five seasons of his career in Kansas City, Nick Allegretti will be getting major change of NFL scenery this year. The offensive lineman decided to sign with the Washington Commanders in free agency, which means he’ll be going from a team that’s won three of the past four Super Bowls to a franchise that hasn’t made it out of the divisional round since 1991. 

After experiencing so much success with the Chiefs, you might be wondering why he decided to finally leave Kansas City. Surprisingly, it wasn’t for the money — Allegretti’s new three-year deal with the Commanders only includes $9.02 million in guarantees — the 27-year-old signed in Washington because he wanted to go to a spot where he would have a chance to start. 

“I have a ton of respect for the guys in Kansas City,” Allegretti said recently, via the Commanders’ official website. “I enjoyed my role there, but I think I had gotten to the point in my career where I wanted to come and be a starter in Week 1. That’s my goal coming to Washington.”

Allegretti got plenty of playing time during his five years in Kansas City, but he was never viewed as a starter there. After being selected during the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft, he played in a total of 74 regular-season games over the next five seasons, but he only made 13 starts. 

During the 2023 regular season, Allegretti saw action in all 17 regular-season games for Kansas City, but he only got one start. However, he did see plenty of postseason action after starting left guard Joe Thuney went down with an injury during Kansas City’s 27-24 win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. 

Thuney suffered a pec injury that would sideline him for the rest of the playoffs, which opened the door for Allegretti to start in both the AFC Championship and Kansas City’s 25-22 win over the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.

Allegretti actually ended up being one of the heroes for Kansas City in the Super Bowl and that’s because he played through an injury. He tore his UCL in the second quarter and if he had left the game, the Chiefs would have been down to their third-string left guard, but instead, he ended up playing every single offensive snap in a game that went to overtime. 

After starting those two playoff games, Allegretti felt it was time to look for a job where he would be the full-time starter. 

“I felt like a starter,” Allegretti said. “I knew that I could be a Day 1 starter, and that’s what I’m here to prove.”

Washington is definitely a good landing spot for an offensive lineman who’s looking for a starting job. The Commanders are totally revamping their offensive line for the upcoming season with only two starters from last year set to return (right tackle Andrew Wylie and right guard Sam Cosmi). Allegretti will have a good shot to go into the season as the starter at left guard and if he does win the job, he’ll once again be teaming up with Wylie, who spent five seasons with the Chiefs (2018-22) before signing with the Commanders in 2023.