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Per Ian Rapoport, Trey Smith has been Franchise Tag which is $23.4 million for one year, fully guaranteed.

It’s an intriguing move for the Chiefs who could have three offensive linemen making big money. Joe Thuney will make $27 million this season. Creed Humphrey will make $18 million in 2025. When you add in Trey Smith’s new deal, that makes $50 million just in offensive guards. Not a conventional way to build a football team at all.

I think Trey Smith was the best guard on the free agent market. It is not a coincide that 24 hours after coming back from the combine, the Chiefs slapped the Franchise Tag on him. It had reported that the Bears were hot on Smith’s trail and the Chiefs wanted to make sure they had exclusive rights to work out a long-term deal.

I understand why Veach prioritized bringing Smith back, who was a sixth-round pick in 2021. He’s great in the run-game and brings an edge to the line with his toughness and attitude. He’s a fan favorite and a team leader. A good offensive line is an offensive line that is cohesive. Creed and Trey were drafted together and Thuney came over from the Patriots in 2021. As good as those three are, and they are three of the 10 best interior linemen in the game, the roster construction doesn’t make a lot of sense.

I’m not sure what to make of this other than maybe Joe Thuney will get traded before the draft. This is his last year on the team and he will be 33 in November. We will have to monitor how this goes but I would have to imagine that the Chiefs get a long-term deal done with Trey Smith before training camp starts. July is the deadline to sign an extension off of the Franchise Tag.