In Super Bowl LIX, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said the Philadelphia Eagles blitzed just a couple of times.
So while basically rushing just four players, the Eagles defense still dominated along the line of scrimmage, sacking Mahomes six times and hitting him five other times. The pressure also forced him into three turnovers, including a pick-six.
“It just comes down to settling his feet,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said during his press conference at the 2025 NFL Combine, “and him trusting the protection up front.”
In the 40-22 loss, Mahomes couldn’t trust his protection — particularly at left tackle.
The Eagles took advantage of Joe Thuney, a Pro Bowl guard who was forced to become Mahomes’ blind-side protector after rookie Kingsley Suamataia and second-year lineman Wanya Morris struggled earlier in the season.
With such a glaring need at left tackle this past season, why didn’t the Chiefs turn to the previous year’s starter —Donovan Smith?
That’s because Smith, who the Chiefs signed to a one-year, $3 million contract before the 2023 season, suffered a hip injury while training in May of 2024 that caused him to miss the entire 2024 campaign.
According to a source close to the situation, about half of the league called to check on Smith last year.
Though he wasn’t able to help the Chiefs or any other team in 2024, he’s better now and hopes to continue his career in 2025.
The rub, however, is that Smith will turn 32 this summer, and his durability is a concern. Before missing the 2024 season, he missed five games in 2023 due to a neck stinger.
Smith has started 124 games during his nine-year career, and his dependability while blocking for Tom Brady is why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him to a two-year, $31.8 million contract extension in March of 2021.
But the Buccaneers released him after he struggled in his final season with the Buccaneers in 2022, committing a career-high 12 penalties. There were financial reasons too. With Smith having a cap number of $17.9 million entering 2023, the Buccaneers created nearly $10 million in space by releasing him.
Smith then signed with the Chiefs, started 12 regular-season games and protected Mahomes en route to the Super Bowl LVIII title.
With Smith manning his blind side, Mahomes was sacked just five times during four playoff games to cap the 2023 season. But without Smith, Mahomes was sacked more than that in Super Bowl LIX alone.
Despite his age and durability issues, Smith would be an upgrade from their current offensive tackle situation, and he could be cheap option in 2025 — as he was in 2023.
Plus, the Chiefs are known to bring back former players for a second run, including veterans Kareem Hunt, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Pennel on the Super Bowl LIX roster.
With Suamataia seeming like a better option at guard, the Chiefs’ No. 1 offseason objective will be finding help at offensive tackle whether that’s through the draft, a trade or free-agent options like Smith.
“That will be one of the spots we look at,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said, “for sure.”
