According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, there’s an expectation around the league that Chiefs G Trey Smith, a pending free agent in 2025, could end up resetting the market at his position.
The top of the guard market is $21 million a year (Eagles G Landon Dickerson) and Fowler notes the $20 million per year the Panthers gave G Robert Hunt likely caught the attention of Smith and his reps.
He adds the Chiefs would like to keep Smith but are bracing to lose him because of that price tag. Kansas City also just signed C Creed Humphrey to a market-setting deal at $18 million a year and 33-year-old starting LG Joe Thuney will be entering a contract year in 2025, so there are a lot of moving pieces.
Smith, 25, was a two-time first-team All-SEC selection at Tennessee, but missed a chunk of his sophomore season due to blood clots. That contributed to him sliding to the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Chiefs.
He signed a four-year, $3.61 million rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $130,704. Smith made a base salary of $3.366 million in 2024 after qualifying for the Proven Performance Escalator.
In 2024, Smith has appeared in nine games for the Chiefs and made nine starts at right guard. Pro Football Focus has him graded as the No. 8 guard out of 77 qualifying players.
We have him included in our Top 100 2025 NFL Free Agents list.
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