Insider: Keeping Trey Smith Off Market Top of Mind for Chiefs Entering Combine

Trey Smith, who plays offensive guard, is considered by many the top free agent on the market. And two weeks from free agency, the Chiefs are on the clock.

Kansas City knows this isn’t the most robust free-agent class but the Chiefs also are well aware they need to protect Patrick Mahomes. That’s why signing Smith to a contract extension as early as this week is top of mind for the Chiefs as they arrive in Indianapolis for the scouting combine, according to senior NFL insider Dianna Russini.

“If you asked me even just the day before the Super Bowl, ‘Tell me where Trey Smith's going to go,’ I probably would have said New England,” Russini said Tuesday on the Scoop City podcast. “I would have picked a team that I know needs an offensive line.

“But from what I can gather, Kansas City's making it a priority to try to keep him. … I think they're going to try to get a long-term deal done with him. I think they're going to try to make every effort.”

Those efforts will benefit this week from the combine, which attracts not only the top draft prospects to Indianapolis, but also hundreds of agents. Because the Collective Bargaining Agreement groups offensive guards with higher-paid offensive tackles, using the franchise or transition tags on Smith aren’t likely options for the Chiefs.

But including the lobby of the Conrad Hotel, the second-floor Starbucks lounge at the JW Marriott, or a booth at Harry & Izzy’s, Indianapolis offers GM Brett Veach countless walking-distance options to meet with Smith’s representatives.

“Brett Veach is not stupid, obviously,” Russini said, “because he knows one of the reasons why this team lost in the Super Bowl against the Eagles, they could not handle what was coming at them … Just got obviously steamrolled by the Eagles. So, protecting Patrick Mahomes again, right? We're going to have to do this again like we saw after their loss to Tampa.”

That loss to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV to wrap up the 2020 season ironically led to Kansas City drafting Smith. A starter since the Chiefs selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, the 6-6, 321-pound Smith has flourished under offensive line coach Andy Heck.

Smith excelled in 2024, not only individually but also in combination with the Chiefs’ other interior linemen, center Creed Humphrey and guard Joe Thuney. That trio represented the NFL’s only three offensive linemen during the regular season to reach 1,000 snaps without allowing a sack.

Obviously, as the Chiefs attempted to mitigate their porous offensive-tackle situation in 2024, edge rushers hounded Mahomes most of the season -- all the way through the Super Bowl.

But Kansas City rebuilt its offensive line after that prior Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay, when the Chiefs allowed three sacks and Mahomes threw a pair of interceptions. They can surely do it again. Keeping Smith off the free-agent market would be the first step.

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