Kansas City Chiefs land Irv Smith Jr. in free agency

The Kansas City Chiefs have made their first external move in free agency. Reports have the Chiefs signing journeyman tight end Irv Smith Jr. to a one-year deal.

After signing Chris Jones to a lucrative new deal, the Chiefs have now set their sights on adding new faces to an offseason roster ready to chase a three-peat and it begins here with the addition of Smith who spent last year with the Cincinnati Bengals after beginning his career with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Kansas City Chiefs have added a new competitor to the mix at tight end early in free agency.

Smith is not the major signing that a lot of fans are looking for in terms of an offensive weapon, but at a position that sees Blake Bell getting older (and hitting free agency himself), Smith is a much younger player to place in competition with others on the depth chart hoping for the best possible active roster.

The Chiefs will still undoubtedly roll with Travis Kelce atop the depth chart at tight end with Noah Gray coming into a contract year behind him as TE2. However, Smith can be an upgrade athletically as TE3 and brings new possibilities to the offensive playbook when working out of multiple tight end sets.

Smith was a second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Alabama but he never turned into the impactful target for the Vikings they were hoping to find. After his rookie deal quietly expired, they let him walk in free agency and he left for a single-season deal with the Bengals last spring for a mere $1.75 million.

For the Bengals, Smith caught 18 passes for 115 yards and 1 touchdown.