3 players who are definitely entering their final season with KC Chiefs
By Matt Conner
Donovan Smith, OT
This feels like a fairly easy prediction knowing what's at stake here for both sides.
The Chiefs signed Donovan Smith to a one-year deal following the NFL Draft in a somewhat surprising move after coming away with Wanya Morris in the third round overall. It felt like both sides had this move worked out ahead of time in case the draft fell a certain way, and that's exactly what happened.
For Smith, the one-season play is a rebound proposition. Last year in Tampa Bay, he went through a frustrating season marked by losses in the standing and injuries on the field. The team bottomed out and his own free agent stock went with it as he tried to play through multiple injuries. Instead of taking a raw deal on the open market, he went with the Chiefs for a chance to grab a ring and rebuild his reputation on an offense that will play in primetime all season long. Think of JuJu Smith-Schuster's outcome.
For the Chiefs, there are now two impressive young tackles with multiple years remaining on rookie deals: Morris and Lucas Niang. Jawaan Taylor is the new anchor at one bookend, likely on the right side, but there are too many questions about Morris's inexperience and Niang's injury history for the Chiefs to have gone into the season without additional help (and that's not Prince Tega Wanogho who is going to eras the doubts).
After this year, the Chiefs will have a very good idea whether or not Niang can bounce back and compete and/or whether Morris has the ceiling. From there, they can make further calls on how to approach the line while Smith can re-enter the market with time left in his career for one more payday.