The Kansas City Chiefs have some work to do with their offensive line this offseason and the first part of that is paying Trey Smith. After the Chiefs traded Joe Thuney to the Bears on Wednesday, the Chiefs now freed up roughly $16 million and can afford to pay Smith, who is the younger option at the two starting guard spots.

According to Nate Taylor The Athletic, Smith is expected to land a four or five-year deal worth around $23 million a year. No one should be surprised by this, especially with how valuable offensive linemen have become in recent years.

Trey Smith expected to earn annual salary of $23 million this offseason

The Chiefs struck gold when they were able to land Smith in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. This came after the Chiefs were embarrassed in Super Bowl 55 because their offensive line was dinged up, allowing the Buccaneers to do whatever they wanted to in that game.

The Chiefs landed both Smith and Creed Humphrey in the 2021 draft and they shored up the right guard and center positions since their rookie seasons. Many thought that Smith would for sure be gone this offseason considering the Chiefs’ salary cap situation but after franchise tagging Smith and then trading Thuney, Smith looks to be sticking around for the foreseeable future.

While some would complain about paying a guard this much money, Chiefs fans have now had a front row seat to witnessing a bad offensive line in the Super Bowl on two separate occasions. Brett Veach and the front office are keeping Smith, the younger option over Thuney, and hopefully the money saved from parting ways with Thuney also allows the Chiefs to make some other moves happen, in particular, adding a left tackle that can finally give the team some stability at the position.