Of the nearly two dozen unrestricted free agents potentially leaving the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason, none of the departees would create a bigger void than right guard Trey Smith. The mauling lineman has turned into one of the NFL's best at his position and is ready to cash in on a growing guard market this spring.
One transactional option Chiefs general manager Brett Veach might consider applying to Smith is the transition tag, a move that offers both advantages and potential drawbacks. NFL reporter Adam Schefter brought up the notion in a recent post on X (Twitter).
Using the transition tag vs. the franchise tag on Smith
The transition tag is a designation that NFL teams can use to retain unrestricted free agents, a cousin of sorts to the franchise tag. The transition tag guarantees the Chiefs, in this instance, the right of first refusal to match any offer Smith might receive from another team.
As for salary, the tagged player (e.g. Smith) would be offered a one-year contract from their current team, with the salary determined by the average of the top ten salaries at the player's position (instead of the top five like the franchise tag). Also unlike the franchise tag, if the original team declines to match any offer from another franchise, they won't receive any compensation.
If they applied the transition tag on Smith, the Chiefs would be on the hook for a salary of $22,745,000 in 2025, as determined by the average of the top ten OL salaries (there's no differentiation among offensive line roles when it comes to the tag). Smith could negotiate with other teams, but the Chiefs could at least let the market dictate the terms of any long-term deal and accept or reject such an offer.
Why the Chiefs would forgo any compensation could come down to a few million dollars. The franchise tag would result in a $25,156,000 cap hit in an offseason where ever dollar counts. Then again, the inabilty to recoup anything in return might be worth the difference.
What does history tell us about the Chiefs and the tag?
Last year, the Chiefs utilized the franchise tag on L'Jarius Sneed and were in a similar position. The long-term costs associated with keeping Sneed around, despite his immense talents, felt cost-prohibitive given other roster considerations (especially a long-term deal for Chris Jones on the same timeline). The Chiefs found a trade partner in the Tennessee Titans and will pick atop the third round for their efforts.
The Chiefs have never been afraid to use some sort of tag over the years, although it's largely been the franchise tag applied to the likes of Chris Jones (2020), Dee Ford (2018), Orlando Brown Jr. (2021), and Justin Houston (2015) in the last decade.
A real quandary for the Chiefs
Should the Chiefs apply either tag to Smith? It's not an easy answer either way. The cap hit in both instances is going to be tough to stomach on a team that's already going to have to restructure a few things just to stay flexible in the market.
Then again, the offensive line is one place the Chiefs must be ready to address, and losing a homegrown Pro Bowl guard is not the way to rebuild the offensive front. Again, there are no easy answers here.
At the very least, Veach has a few options available to him when it comes to retaining Smith for 2025 and possibly beyond. They're all costly but Smith has earned that much after performing so well on a sixth-rounder's slotted deal.
manual