As expected, Trey Smith did not report for the Kansas City Chiefs voluntary OTAs this week. This is very much normal for players who have been franchise-tagged, and he will not be fined for his absence. Not only is this a common negotiation tactic, but it’s also a way to prevent injury for players with no guaranteed long-term money.

While Chiefs fans shouldn’t look at Trey Smith’s absence as a sign of his extension not progressing, it is a reminder that the clock is ticking on a high-risk move the Chiefs have made.

The Chiefs have until July 15 to reach an extension with Smith. If no deal is consummated, Smith will have to play on the tag in 2025, and the process will start all over at the end of the season.

The Chiefs have been headed down this road for a long time now. They’ve made Creed Humphrey the highest-paid center in football, they drafted three interior offensive linemen (including Kingsley Suamataia) in the 2024 draft, and traded away Joe Thuney.

Chiefs need to figure out Trey Smith extension

The question that lingered over the Chiefs’ offensive line for years is how they could keep their talented interior together. Thuney reset the guard market, but that was when Humphrey and Smith were both rookies. The Chiefs chose to pay Jawaan Taylor to fix right tackle, further complicating offensive line pay for the future.

Once the team extended Humphrey, it felt like one of Thuney or Smith was in their final year in Kansas City. Now that the team has made their choice with the franchise tag, the clock is ticking.

It’s not unrealistic to say the Chiefs chose the lesser player when they selected Smith over Thuney. However, they did select the younger player who has a chance to be better for longer in Smith.

There’s also the financial aspect of Thuney, who needed a new deal. It’s unclear whether or not he would’ve held out of the off-season program seeking a new contract, but he has a resume worthy of doing so. When the Bears reached an extension with Thuney for 2 years/$35 million, the price point became very clear for what it would’ve cost to keep him in red and gold.

The Chiefs are now at a crossroads. What would’ve been better? Three years of Joe Thuney at $17.5 million or four (or five) years of Trey Smith at $23 million? Time will only tell, but one thing is for certain: if the Chiefs fail to reach an extension with Smith, this is a titanic mistake. Tying up $23 million in a single year on a guard his highly immobilizing to their cap space.

While the Chiefs have operated all off-season with the 1 year/$23 million cap hit hanging around their necks, that money could’ve been spent elsewhere. The Chiefs rank 28th in effective cap space right now, limiting moves they can make in season with the practice squad and possible trades.

If the Chiefs do reach an extension with Trey Smith they will bring down his cap hit to a more palatable number for 2025. That space could also prove to be valuable for negotiations with Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis who are both now extension elgible. Though, most of their new deals would be mostly signing bonus in year one.

There’s a real chance that Joe Thuney is straight up the better and cheaper player over the next three years. While that might be true, the Chiefs can lock up a guard position beyond those three years and still have top-end guard play.