Kansas City Chiefs right guard Trey Smith joined FOX Sports’ “First Things First” on Wednesday to discuss his offseason and ongoing contract talks. Earlier this offseason, the club placed the franchise tag on Smith, locking him into a one-year, $23.4 million contract.
The two sides have yet to agree to an extension, but they have plenty of time — thanks to a mid-July deadline.
“I just leave it all in my agent’s hands,” said Smith. “I’ve got Jimmy Sexton and Tory Dandy at CAA; they do a phenomenal job, and [general manager] Brett Veach, the whole front office staff — we have [senior vice president of football operations and strategy] Chris Shea — they’re phenomenal people, and I love working with them as well. At the end of the day, we just keep working at it. I’m just excited. I know I’m coming back, so that’s the best part about it — just ready to go back to work and get back on that field trying to get back to that goal of getting in the Super Bowl. I leave everything up to my agents, let them deal with all that… I’m focused on being great, just being 1% better every single day so I can be the best player I can for this organization.”
Old friend Nick Wright joked that he would put all of the Chiefs’ banners up for auction, with the idea of adding them to Smith’s total compensation to solidify a deal. Smith laughed at that idea.
Earlier in the interview, the right guard discussed how the 2024 Chiefs came up just short, leaving a bad taste in their mouth and motivating them for the 2025 campaign.
“Going into the season, no one was really focused on a three-peat,” explained Smith. “We were just trying to be the best we could be, be effective at our jobs, and just take it day by day, rep by rep. At the end of the day, we came up short of our ultimate goal, and for us, we’re just going to use it as fuel and motivation to get right back to where we need to be. I think we just gotta execute better at a high level. I know, me personally, I didn’t play my best ball, and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. So we just have to refocus, come back next year. We’re not really focused on the end-term goal; we’re just focused on staying in the present and being great at what we do every day.”
A major point that every returning Chiefs player seems to be excited about is tight end Travis Kelce’s decision to play one final season. Head coach Andy Reid recently told reporters that Kelce has been “training like crazy.”
“Man, Trav’s a dog,” boasted Smith. “I love playing with Travis Kelce. Talk about a dude who brings the juice, the energy, the excitement every single time we step on that field, and he’s a leader. It’s no surprise [that he is coming back] to me because I know the type of man, the competitor Travis is. It’s an honor to keep playing with him, and I’m excited about another year going with him.”
