The Kansas City Chiefs made significant changes to their offensive line during the 2025 NFL offseason, but they wanted to make sure star guard Trey Smith remained with the team.
Kansas City slapped Smith with the franchise tag to avoid letting the two-time Super Bowl champion hit the open market as a free agent. As a result, Smith is set to play the 2025 season on a one-year, $23.4 million contract, making him the highest-paid guard in NFL history.
But will the Chiefs sign the 2024 Pro Bowler to a long-term extension? The two parties must agree to one before July 15 – the NFL’s annual deadline by which to agree to an extension with a franchise-tagged player. Otherwise, they may end up doing the same song and dance during the 2026 NFL offseason.
Despite this, Smith doesn’t seem overly worried about his future, as he expressed in an interview on FanDuel TV’s “Up and Adams” Thursday.
“I leave it to the hands of my agents,” Smith said of any potential contract negotiations. “Obviously, the front office staff of the Chiefs are elite, and you know, at the end of the day, I just 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.”
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It isn’t clear whether Smith and the Chiefs will agree to an extension before the deadline. However, the 26-year-old has earned an endorsement from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who called Smith “one of the best protectors in the business,” according to Kay Adams.
“For him to say that means a lot to me,” Smith said. “Like I said, I lose sleep thinking about protecting Patrick. I know the things that I need to get better in my game to be the best protector that I can and just be an asset for my team and help my team out.”
Kansas City has just under $10.9 million in cap space remaining for the 2025 NFL season. Extending Smith could create more, as the team could try to lower his $23.4 million cap hit for the upcoming campaign.
An extension would also replenish the long-term guard stability the Chiefs lost by trading perennial All-Pro Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears during the offseason.
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However, the Chiefs are projected to be $37.2 million over the cap in 2026, per OverTheCap.com. That could complicate potential extension discussions, or at least force Kansas City to consider restructuring some contracts to give itself better maneuverability in 2026 and beyond.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trey Smith not worried about Chiefs contract, franchise tag deadline
