All offseason long, analysts and writers have been hypothesizing where Kansas City Chiefs starting right guard Trey Smith will end up in NFL free agency, but if you listened to general manager Brett Veach speak on February 25, it doesn’t sound like the 25-year-old blocker is going anywhere.
“[Smith is] obviously at the top of the list,” Veach said on Tuesday, when asked where he would prioritize re-signing Smith in free agency.
“We’ve already had some good dialogue with him and with CAA and [his agents],” the Chiefs GM went on to reveal. “Obviously, [there is] a lot to work through, but this is the time of the year to do that. And again, we’ve already had some initial dialogue and that will continue on this week and in the days to come leading up before free agency.”
Finally, as an exclamation point on what was already a very aggressive stance that will likely be music to the ears of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and most KC fans, Veach added: “We’ll certainly do what we can, and I feel pretty optimistic about our possibilities [of re-signing Smith].”
Boom. Apologies to any and all teams hoping they’d solve their O-line issues with the Chiefs’ right guard.
How Much Will Trey Smith Cost Chiefs? And Should They Re-Sign Him?
One prominent media insider did predict that Kansas City would re-sign Smith a while ago, and although nothing is signed and dotted yet, we’ll give him some recognition here.
On January 29, ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano wrote that “based on what I’m hearing, it shouldn’t be a problem for the Chiefs to give Smith a deal that at least matches that in terms of annual value and tops the $63 million in guarantees that Robert Hunt got from the [Carolina] Panthers.”
He settled on a five-year, $105 million projection (including $64 million guaranteed), which would reset the guard market in terms of total contract value and guaranteed money, but not average annual salary. Philadelphia Eagles left guard Landon Dickerson also currently makes $21 million per year, so this estimated deal would match that.
Let’s assume for a moment that Graziano’s prediction is somewhat accurate — and it should at least be in the right ballpark — the question then becomes, should the Chiefs re-sign Smith?
Chiefs beat reporters Matt Derrick (Chiefs Digest) and Nick Jacobs (KSHB 41) discussed this topic on the February 23 edition of their podcast, “41 is the Mic.”
“You already know what I would do, I’d pay that man his money,” Jacobs stated right off the bat before acknowledging that Smith has racked up a large number of penalties.
In Jacobs’ opinion, this penalty issue stems from having to account for right tackle Jawaan Taylor’s unique but unhelpful technique of how he sets himself at the line of scrimmage. The reporter targeted $18-20 million per year as Smith’s ideal price range.
Derrick admitted that he’s gone “back and forth” on retaining Smith but seemed to lean toward bringing him back after hearing Jacobs make his case.
“To me, it’s more important to keep a Trey Smith than it would be to let go of a Trey Smith because then you can keep a [wide receiver like] Hollywood Brown,” Derrick voiced. Settling on the fact that he’d prefer to re-sign Smith even if it meant letting two or three less important free agents walk.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach Reiterates KC Will Build Through Offensive & Defensive Line in 2025
As always, Veach is planning to begin in the trenches as he reconstructs this KC roster in 2025. This has been a common theme under Veach’s tenure, although he has sometimes struggled to find the right pieces at offensive tackle and edge rusher.
“I think if you look at how we’ve handled the offseasons, whether it was a Joe Thuney or trading for Orlando Brown, or Taylor, or Frank Clark, or Chris Jones. I mean, Mike Danna last year… we’re always investing in the offensive and defensive lines,” Veach noted on February 25.
“It’s just some years, you have more numbers to work with than others. And I mean, that would probably be a similar challenge this year, and it’s just coming up with some different unique plans,” he continued. “But I think our priority is always on the fronts first, and this will be no different.”
With Mahomes under team control long-term, the Chiefs have found the recipe for success. And that recipe is focusing on the big bodies on both sides of the football.
KC has shown that they can do a lot with a little when it comes to positions like wide receiver, running back, cornerback, safety, linebacker and even tight end (behind Travis Kelce). But the strength of this recent powerhouse has been the trenches — outside of quarterback.
Some may disagree with that assessment following a bad Super Bowl loss, but the Eagles operate under the same trench warfare philosophy, and they were able to beat Veach at his own game due to better execution. If anything, that defeat will likely motivate the Chiefs GM even more when it comes to beefing up his offensive and defensive lines.
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