Kansas City Chiefs take their top pending free agent off the market with stunning 2025 franchise tag decision

Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach made it clear that retaining starting RG Trey Smith was the team’s biggest offseason priority, and he’s now made good on that statement.

According to multiple reports, the Chiefs have placed the franchise tag on pending free agent right guard Trey Smith. This takes Smith off the free agent market at the cost of a one-year, fully guaranteed contract of $23.4M. This is a big hit to their salary cap space, which begs the question: Is this a move to lock up Smith and get a long-term extension done?

Because of health concerns, the Chiefs capitalized on the former Tennessee Volunteers star falling to the sixth round in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s been the team’s starter at right guard ever since, appearing in 67 games. They’ve now rewarded the soon-to-be 26-year-old for his dominant play over the last four seasons, which helped the team earn two Super Bowl titles and a chance at a third this past year.

Chiefs franchise tag RG Trey Smith, keeping NFL’s best interior trio intact (for now). 

Smith is coming off the best season of his young NFL career in 2024, earning Pro Bowl honors after allowing no sacks over more than 700 pass-blocking snaps. His dominance in the run game is well-noted, and he plays with a certain edge to his game that inspires some strong play from his teammates. The improvement in pass protection has only made him an asset to a team looking to keep their star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, upright.

This move locks the trio of Smith, Joe Thuney, and Creed Humphrey—widely considered the best offensive interior in football—in Kansas City for at least the 2025 NFL season. Humphrey, also a 2021 NFL draft pick, signed a long-term contract extension ahead of the 2024 NFL season. Thuney is in the final year of his five-year deal, which he signed in March 2021.