A key piece of the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs offensive line explained their decision to forgo a chance to win a third-straight Super Bowl in the upcoming season.

The Kansas City Chiefs lost depth on the OL

Much has been made about the Chiefs’ offseason moves on defense, especially with Chris Jones and L’Jarius Sneed. However, the Chiefs have several question marks on the offensive line. The Chiefs don’t yet have a replacement for left tackle Donovan Smith. The team also lost a key piece of depth when Nick Allegretti signed with the Washington Commanders last month.

Allegretti played a major role in helping the Chiefs win the Super Bowl in February. He stepped in to play for Joe Thuney in the playoffs after the All-Pro suffered a pec injury in their Wild Card matchup against the Buffalo Bills.

Allegretti earned a 62.4 grade from Pro Football Focus for his postseason play. He gave up two sacks in 113 pass blocks. Allegretti believes he’s ready for a starter’s role in the upcoming season.

Nick Allegretti wants to be a starter

According to the Commanders site, he signed with Washington because he thinks he can compete there to be a Week 1 starter this September:

“I have a ton of respect for the guys in Kansas City,” Allegretti said. “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..

“This was a great opportunity,” Allegretti said. “I have a ton of respect for Coach [Dan] Quinn and what he’s been able to accomplish in his career. It looked like I had a great opportunity to come in here and compete. That’s all I wanted.”

Allegretti is penciled in as a starter for Washington

Per Our Lads, Allegretti is penciled in as the starting left guard for the Commanders a few weeks before the draft. Allegretti should be in the driver’s seat to get his wish to be a full-time starter in the NFL this season.

But the price of starting might cost him another ring.