Andy Reid Confirms Donovan Smith Will Play Left Tackle

On Monday, Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed that newly signed OT Donovan Smith will, in fact, play left tackle for them.

“He’s been a left tackle at a high level. He’s a good player. He’ll be with the left side with the ones. Jawaan (Taylor) will move over to the right,” Reid said of Smith, per Nate Taylor. 

It’s notable because the Chiefs indicated that Jawaan Taylor would play left tackle for them after they signed him to a big-money deal in free agency. However, Taylor has played right tackle in the NFL and this move would take some pressure off of him from making the transition. 

Smith has dealt with injury over the past year or so, but could be a great value signing for the Chiefs. 

Smith, 29, is a former second-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2015. He played out the final year of his four-year, $6.068 million contract before agreeing to a three-year, $41.25 million contract with the Buccaneers in 2019 that included $27 million fully guaranteed. 

He was due to make a base salary of $15.25 million in 2023 when the Buccaneers released him this offseason. Smith later signed a one-year contract with the Chiefs worth up to $9 million. 

In 2022, Smith appeared in 13 games for the Buccaneers, making 13 starts for them at left tackle. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 66 tackle out of 81 qualifying players.