By Jayson Henderson

The Kansas City Chiefs signed offensive guard Trey Smith to a new contract Tuesday, avoiding the need to place the franchise tag on him for the 2025 season. The franchise tag is a one-year contract teams can use to keep a player from entering free agency, often used as a temporary solution while negotiating a long-term deal.

Smith played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers before he was selected by the Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft at No. 226 overall. He quickly became a key part of Kansas City’s offensive line.

Since joining the team, Smith has started 67 games and logged over 1,000 snaps in each of his four seasons. He has allowed fewer than 10 total sacks on more than 2,500 pass-blocking snaps.

Ranked No. 4 among interior linemen by ESPN, Smith’s new deal locks down a reliable protector for Patrick Mahomes.