From an offensive line perspective, the Chiefs‘ Tremendous Bowl letdown was notably attention-grabbing. The group rolled out a quintet housing two first-team All-Professionals (heart Creed Humphrey, left guard-turned-left deal with Joe Thuney) and noticed Trey Smith safe his first Professional Bowl accolade. But, the Eagles nonetheless teed off on Patrick Mahomes to remind of the Buccaneers’ Tremendous Bowl LV rampage.
Kansas City both built a formidable interior trio but saw its shaky tackle plan unravel at the worst time. Unlike in Super Bowl LV, when the AFC superpower played without injured starters Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, the Chiefs had their tackles wholesome. They simply couldn’t maintain up, with RT Jawaan Taylor persevering with to battle and the non-Thuney LT choices — Wanya Morris, second-round rookie Kingsley Suamataia and in-season free company addition D.J. Humphries — deemed much less acceptable in comparison with kicking an All-Professional guard exterior.
Because the Chiefs will want a greater reply at left deal with in 2025, they’re bracing for his or her high in-house free agent to go away. Kansas Metropolis is predicted to lose Smith as soon as the market opens, according to the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora. Regardless of the Chiefs exhibiting interest in retaining Smith on the season’s outset, his state of affairs has trended this way for a bit.
It will break up the inside trio the Chiefs constructed weeks after their Tremendous Bowl LV blowout loss, as Thuney, Humphrey and Smith started enjoying collectively — to key a profitable O-line turnaround following the tough Tampa evening — in 2021. With Humphrey prolonged and Thuney signed for another season, Smith seems the odd man out.
The Chiefs might make a last-ditch transfer to make sure Smith stays through the use of the franchise tag on the previous sixth-round discover, however guards are hardly ever tagged. The tag method nonetheless classifies all offensive linemen below one umbrella, which means high facilities and guards would see the identical tag quantity as tackles. Sort out salaries thus balloon guard tag figures, paving high inside blockers’ paths to the market. There have been a few exceptions lately, with Thuney — by way of a 2020 Patriots tag — being considered one of them. Washington additionally cuffed Brandon Scherff for 2 years. However the Chiefs produce other points to deal with. They seem like keen to abdomen dropping an impression RG expertise in consequence.
Kansas Metropolis already reduce into considered one of its strengths by kicking Thuney to LT. That transfer had stabilized the Chiefs’ line for a stretch, however the Eagles uncovered the plan on the largest stage. The three-time reigning AFC champions already gave Humphrey a monster heart extension that checks in by itself tier (four years, $72M) at that place, and Thuney is tied to a $26.97M cap quantity in a contract yr. The Chiefs might look right into a Thuney extension to carry that down, however the ex-Patriots draftee can be now 32. Smith is 25, which can make his anticipated departure sting.
As the Chiefs could look into the likes of Ronnie Stanley and Cam Robinson to assist stabilize their deal with spots, they nonetheless have Taylor on the books for a assured $20M. By conserving Taylor on the roster in March 2024, the Chiefs noticed the struggling RT’s 2025 base wage and $500K exercise bonus lock in.
This cash and the Humphrey and Thuney offers stand to restrict the Chiefs up entrance, although one nameless GM provides (by way of La Canfora) the group will probably present curiosity in Stanley and Robinson. Stanley is coming off his healthiest season since 2019, and that actually would stand to make him greater than a mere stopgap. The Vikings have Christian Darrisaw coming again after a season-ending damage, which might stand to level their emergency fill-in — Robinson — to the market.
The Bears have been linked to Smith, and a number of execs recognized (by way of La Canfora) the Titans as a doable vacation spot. Tennessee already dived into the veteran inside market final yr, by signing heart Lloyd Cushenberry, and used a first-round decide on left guard Peter Skoronski. The Titans nonetheless have a necessity at RG. A Tennessee alum, Smith must be anticipated to become the NFL’s fifth $20M-per-year guard if/when he hits free company. Professional Soccer Focus has graded him as a top-15 choice on the place in every of his 4 seasons, which can make a Chiefs alternative process tough.
