Bear Digest

How it's still possible for Bears to land Trey Smith at a price

Although Kansas City's guard is scheduled to receive the franchise tag, it's possible the Chiefs have an interest in another expensive lineman and would trade him.
Gene Chamberlain|
Trey Smith moves out to block against Detroit. The Chiefs guard will officially have a franchise tag on Tuesday at 3 p.m. but it's always possible he'd be traded if no contract extension is reached with Kansas City.
Trey Smith moves out to block against Detroit. The Chiefs guard will officially have a franchise tag on Tuesday at 3 p.m. but it's always possible he'd be traded if no contract extension is reached with Kansas City. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Anyone hoping for a quick and clear-cut resolution to rebuilding the Bears offensive line is likely to be disappointed.

It's possible it could take some waiting and one scenario painted by Chris Emma of WSCR AM-670 on the station's website suggests the Trey Smith saga can be revisited long past Tuesday's 3 p.m. deadline for franchise tags.

The Chiefs tagged Smith but no franchise tag becomes official until Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Even after this, the Bears could try to talk Chiefs GM Brett Veach into a trade in a scenario if no contract extension agreement is reached by the Chiefs with their guard. As Emma pointed out in his summary of the scouting combine, Kansas City did this last year with cornerback L'Jarius Sneed.

However, he difference was they intended to make it a tag-and-trade. They did trade him but it wasn't until late March and he went to Tennessee for a third-round pick with both teams swapping seventh-round slots to even out the move.

It's not an uncommon approach for the Chiefs. They did this in 2019 with Dee Ford and in that case quickly traded him just before free agency. They also were on the other end of this as Seattle used the tag on pass rusher Frank Clark, then dealt him to Kansas City for first-round and second-round picks and a swap of places in Round 3. In that case the negotiating all went on until just before the NFL draft.

Other teams have done it. It's just not something the Bears have pursued. The Jaguars tagged Yannick Ngakoue in 2020 and then traded him for a second-rounder and conditional fifth-rounder to the Vikings shortly after tagging him.

So, if the Chiefs were actually content to trade Smith, a cutoff for their wait to acquire him might be really be just before the April 24 draft, like when they acquired Clark from Seattle.

The Bears have an extra second-round pick this year they could trade. The have a third-rounder and no fourth-round pick.

The entire Smith situation is complicated by Kansas City's cap situation and desire to stabilize their offensive line situation. For that reason, trading Smith after a tag doesn't seem as likely as their situation was with Sneed.

However, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler suggested in a post-combine report that Kansas City's attempt to resolve offensive line issues might include pursuing Ravens two-time Pro Bowl tackle Ronnie Stanley.

"Many around the league are loosely expecting the Chiefs to entertain Stanley's market, should he get free," Fowler wrote.

How a team currently $20.3 million over the salary cap with week to go until the deadline to comply with the cap is supposed to afford one of the expensive tackles on the market while also negotiating a long-term contract with a guard to avoid paying $23 million in tag costs is entirely unknown. And then the Chiefs need money to operate the team and sign draft picks.

So this Trey Smith siege might not be entirely finished for the Bears, and it could be one dragging on for weeks.

What is certain is if they did eventually get him, it would cost them more than cash—after 3 p.m. Tuesday it would also cost them draft pick compensation.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.