Kelce will return to Kansas City for 2025, as will guard Trey Smith—but the Chiefs know they need to do more to help protect Patrick Mahomes. Plus, Travis Hunter and Will Campbell make strong impressions.

Kansas City Chiefs stars Travis Kelce, Trey Smith and Patrick Mahomes take the field for Super Bowl LIX. / Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

NFL combine workouts are underway in Indianapolis. At least for those who are participating …

• The Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to tag Trey Smith wasn’t an easy one—and not because they don’t like him as a player and a person. But the number, expected to land at $23.4 million, is a lot for a guard. It’s because that figure is based on what the top tackles make, since all offensive linemen are grouped together in the calculation, which puts Smith’s lump sum for 2025 well over the top APY for the position (the Philadelphia Eagles’ Landon Dickerson, $21 million).

The gap only grows when you do the math on an extension. A second tag for Smith would be $28.1 million. That puts the two-year total, which would be used as a baseline for the guarantee of the first two years on an extension, at $51.5 million, or an average of $25.75 million per year, a big markup on Dickerson’s deal.

So, to me, the decision to tag Smith is indicative of two things. First, the Chiefs, obviously, love Smith as a player. Second, they know they have to get their line right, and letting an All-Pro-level guard walk wouldn’t be a step in the right direction.

That said, if Smith were to land a deal at $25 million per year, that would mean adding his number to what Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney are making, Kansas City would have $63 million per year sunk into its two guards and its center. Which is a lot when you still have to address your tackle position going forward.

• While we’re there, Travis Kelce is officially back for the Chiefs in 2025, and I think a key element in making sure they can manage him through another season will be the health of wide receiver Rashee Rice. Before Rice sustained a PLC injury in October, the star-crossed ‘23 second-round pick looked like he was rounding into form as one of the NFL’s top young receivers. If he can get back there in ’25, it’ll take some burden off Kelce during the regular season.

• Good move by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to reinstate Jon Gruden to their Ring of Honor. The ex-Tampa coach messed up badly, for sure, but given how that all went down a couple years ago, permanently erasing him from the franchise’s history would be a little silly. This also could foreshadow an eventual return to broadcasting. Stay tuned.

• Travis Hunter maintained at the combine on Thursday that he wants to play both ways in the NFL, which is consistent with what he and Colorado coach Deion Sanders have said all along. Most teams believe the best move is to play him at corner first, and work him into packages on offense. But I did have this thought—what if a team had a receiver need and played him on offense as a rookie, then moved him to defense in Year 2? That’s what, to me, is so cool about Hunter as a player. The possibilities feel endless.

• One early winner in interviews—LSU OT Will Campbell. He’s shown presence, has been calm and confident, and is incredibly football smart. And while he sees himself as a tackle, he’s shown a willingness to play wherever his coaches put him. Some teams see him as more of a guard. So his arm length measurement will be important. But I can’t imagine that he’ll last long on April 24, and may not make it out of the top five.

• There are a lot of guys nicked up and not working out in Indy, and one interesting one is Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo. He has a bruised knee, so he’ll wait until his pro day. And his pro day now looms as critical, because after a strong Senior Bowl week, teams expected that his athleticism would show up in Indy. Because he’s seen as a “traits” guy with a ton of upside, running fast and jumping high will be important.

• Oklahoma hiring Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy as general manager, and Nebraska hiring New England Patriots pro scouting director Pat Stewart as its GM, are more examples of how NIL and the transfer portal are impacting the NFL. Both have created a more complex roster-building landscape that NFL folks are equipped for, given how the pros have to balance pro scouting with college scouting, the salary cap, and everything in between.

• I don’t expect Penn State star Abdul Carter’s stock to be impacted at all by the stress reaction doctors uncovered in his foot at the combine. It’s something that’ll need to be managed—and potentially might need to be pinned before the season. But that it is termed as a “reaction” indicates that it was found early, which helps. That said, foot injuries can linger, so it’s nothing that can be ignored, either.

• Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart is our first big combine winner. At 6’5″ and 267 pounds, he ran a 4.59 40-yard dash, posted a 40″ vertical and a 10’11” broad jump. I wouldn’t be surprised if he lands in the top 10—even if the production doesn’t quite match the traits.

• Fair to say the Myles Garrett standoff promises to have a few more chapters.