The Trey Smith free agency saga continues to build up steam.
In case you missed it, a report from Kansas City shares the news that the Chiefs are not expected to place the Franchise Tag on the Pro Bowl right guard. And while the team would still try to re-sign an important piece of its offensive line puzzle, it could be a tight squeeze with salary cap constraints in 2025 and down the line.
If Trey Smith *DOES* make it to free agency, there is an expectation that the Bears will take a run at signing the stud offensive lineman when the market opens in March. For what it’s worth, one ESPN analyst has the Chicago Bears as the best fit for Smith. There is so much smoke here that you’d have to be looking the other way to miss the fire.
Nate Taylor, who broke the Trey Smith non-tag news for The Athletic on Wednesday, was a guest on 670 The Score’s “Mully and Haugh Show” Thursday morning. In what was an informative and enlightening conversation that offered insight into Smith, the Chiefs, and that whole dynamic, Taylor said something that made my ears perk up:
“I think the Bears probably have the inside track out of other teams not named the Chiefs to sign him in free agency. That’s what will be so fascinating about the conversations we’ll have next week in Indianapolis at the Combine. … You can argue that Trey Smith is younger and just as good, if not better, than all of the highest-paid right guards in the league. Which means you’re thinking about $22, $23, $24 million which was, as I reported, right around the Franchise Tag and the Chiefs didn’t want to make that commitment just to hold more time to see if they can get a long-term deal.”
You can check out the entire segment from the February 20 show with Mike Mulligan, David Haugh, and Nate Taylor here.
Obsessive Trey Smith Watch: We’re playing the waiting game
Kansas City is in a pickle with Trey Smith. Obviously, the Chiefs would want to keep him in the fold. Nate Taylor said as much during his appearance on WSCR. Home-grown stud offensive linemen do not grow on trees, and Smith is coming off a year in which he earned Pro Bowl honors for his efforts. But after watching the Philadelphia Eagles put pressure on quarterback Patrick Mahomes early and often off the edge, the Chiefs might be stuck choosing to bolster the left tackle position at the expense of losing their star right guard.
Even if they wanted to choose Trey Smith, it could be difficult for the Chiefs to bring him back *AND* add some necessary firepower at other offensive positions. Kansas City is already paying big money to right tackle Jawaan Taylor ($27.391 million cap number in 2025), left guard Joe Thuney ($26.971 million cap number in 2025), and center Creed Humphrey ($10.79 million cap number in 2025 is followed by cap numbers of $18.1M in 2026 and $21.6M in 2027). Perhaps there is a path to retain Smith that includes parting ways with Thuney (potential $16M cap savings with a cut). But even if that happened, K.C. would still need to fill Thuney’s vacancy.
The Trey Smith situation is a fascinating one. On the one hand, Smith is on the cusp of free agency, and things are lining up for him to reset the market for interior offensive linemen. But on the other hand, it sounds like the Chiefs would like to re-sign him before he hits the market. However, Kansas City will need to get creative with the contract’s structure to make that happen. Nate Taylor suggests a back-loaded deal could be an option. So that is something to keep in mind between now and when the exclusive negotiation period ends, and the so-called “legal tampering” window begins on March 10
