The Kansas City Chiefs are reeling from perhaps their worst defeat in the Patrick Mahomes – Andy Reid era.
Losing 40-22; with a scoreline that flattered the Chiefs after a pair of garbage time touchdowns cut the deficit to *just* 18 points, in a Super Bowl that was set to make history as KC attempted the unprecedented “three-peat”; is about as low as it has gotten for Mahomes and co. since he took the reigns in 2018.
The only comparable moment for Kansas City was in 2021, when Tom Brady and the elite Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense relentlessly pursued Mahomes in another Super Bowl battering, 31-9.
Yet at that time, the Chiefs at least had the excuse that they were missing both offensive tackles, Pro Bowler Eric Fisher, and All-Pro Mitchell Schwartz, in a game that was totally dictated in the trenches.
As was Super Bowl Lix, let it be said, but this time the Chiefs did not have a single injury to a starting offensive lineman – although they were playing starting guard, Joe Thuney, at left tackle after benching former Pro Bowler, DJ Humphries, last month.
Kansas City Need To Fix Up Their Offensive Line
Regardless, the clear and obvious sign is that Kansas City need help on their offensive line – particularly in pass protection, where the Eagles managed a massive 38% pressure rate on drop-backs, despite having a 0% blitz rate.
A unit that was once the strength of the team ultimately lead to its downfall in not one, but now two Super Bowls.
In theory, this should be a fairly straightforward fix: the Chiefs need to shore up the left tackle position, thus allowing Thuney to move back inside, and perhaps draft a project-style right tackle to give them options to move off the expensive Jawaan Taylor in 2026 or beyond.
However, it seems like Kansas City may take another hit to its protection, as recent news surfaced concerning Pro Bowl guard, Trey Smith.
Chiefs Believe They Will Lose Trey Smith In Free Agency
After much back-and-forth between the teams, it seems that the Chiefs are resigned to losing a key part of their offensive line this spring, per Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post.
La Canfora notes, “The Chiefs’ brass expects to lose guard Trey Smith to the open market, from everything I gather — multiple executives pointed to Tennessee as a potential landing spot”.
This is particularly devastating for a Chiefs team that has kept the same middle trio: Smith, Thuney and center, Creed Humphrey, who signed a 4 year, $72 million extension last August; for the team’s past three consecutive Super Bowl appearances – a trio whose prowess can rival any other guard-center-guard combination in the NFL over the past half decade.
The good news for Chiefs fans is that La Canfora also expects KC to be aggressive in attacking their offensive line problem.
“I doubt Kansas City stands pat. That front office traded for former Ravens starting tackle Orlando Brown Jr. a few years back, and Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley is coming off his best and healthiest season in years. Given his lengthy injury history, he could be a perfect fit as a stopgap in Kansas City.”
Ronnie Stanley won’t solve the Chiefs’ guard problem, but it will allow Thuney to move back inside long term. But there are many more-than-serviceable guards in the league – OT is the priority.
