NFL Trade Rumors
The Chiefs have until the end of business hours on July 15 to sign G Trey Smith to a long-term deal, otherwise he’ll play out the 2025 season on the franchise tag.
There has been little news of progress so far, though the Chiefs have maintained that getting Smith locked up is a priority.
Smith was asked about the state of talks in a recent interview and said he leaves all that up to his agents and the team.
“I just leave it to the hands of my agents,” Smith said in an interview with Kay Adams. “And obviously, the front office staff of the Chiefs are elite. At the end of the day, I let them take care of it. I just have to focus on being the best version of myself, being the best football player, and being prepared for training camp because St. Joe’s is around the corner. That’s going to be — I don’t even want to talk about that right now.”
Kansas City clearly didn’t want to lose Smith given how the offensive line deterioration last year cost them a third straight Super Bowl. However, the only leverage they had to keep him from free agency was the tag and it set up an interesting situation.
Because the NFL does not distinguish between the different positions for the offensive line tag, the tender for Smith was $23.4 million fully guaranteed — significantly higher than the current top of the guard market paced by Eagles G Landon Dickerson at $21 million a year.
The tag is usually treated as a floor for average salary on a new deal, so the Chiefs have backed themselves into a bit of a negotiating corner.
Smith, 26, was a two-time first-team All-SEC selection at Tennessee but missed a chunk of his sophomore season due to blood clots. That contributed to him sliding to the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Chiefs.
He signed a four-year, $3.61 million rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $130,704. Smith made a base salary of $3.366 million in 2024 after qualifying for the Proven Performance Escalator.
Smith was slated to be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 when the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on him at a sum of $23.4 million.
In 2024, Smith appeared in all 17 games for the Chiefs and made 17 starts at right guard. Pro Football Focus has him graded as the No. 14 guard out of 77 qualifying players.
We’ll have more on Smith and the Chiefs as the news is available.
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