Trey Smith seemed at one point to be on track for free agency and thus a massive contract sending him to a new team. Instead, the Chiefs kept him in place via the franchise tag, buying team and player time to work out an extension agreement.

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As things stand, Smith is on track to earn $23.4MM next year, a figure inflated by the fact all offensive linemen are grouped together for tag purposes. Landon Dickerson leads the way for guards in terms of annual compensation on multi-year deals at $21MM, something which made the Chiefs’ decision to apply the one-year tender somewhat surprising in the eyes of some observers. Kansas City is aiming to keep Smith in the fold well beyond 2025, though, and general manager Brett Veach recently confirmed as much.

“Hopefully we get that done,” Veach said during his pre-draft press conference when speaking about the Smith situation (via NFL.com). “There’s no lack of interest or will or desire on our end… My guess is once the draft’s over and our focus is back on taking care of the players that are here and trying to get those guys locked up… There’s no secret there that we’d like to get Trey locked up.”

The attention of teams and agents alike will remain focused squarely on the draft for the several more days, but afterwards the Chiefs will have a number of extension candidates to deal with. Smith, 25, is understandably atop that list given his importance to the team’s offensive line. A key factor in the decision to trade away fellow guard Joe Thuney was the need to make a lucrative commitment to a younger option in the form of Smith. The latter has started all 80 of his combined regular and postseason games, and in 2024 he became a Pro Bowler for the first time.

Creed Humphrey reset the center market ($18MM per season) with his Chiefs extension, one which raised questions about the team’s willingness to make another lucrative investment on the interior. Veach’s comments certainly confirm Kansas city is prepared to move forward with a Humphrey-Smith tandem for years to come, however. The ninth-year GM noted extension talks took place with Smith’s agents during the Combine and again at last month’s league meetings.

As a result, it will be interesting to see if traction can be gained in short order with respect to an extension agreement once the draft concludes. If that proves to be the case, Smith’s future beyond the coming season will become clear.