Chiefs Post Major Trey Smith Hint Amid Contract Negotiations

The big question surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp in 2025 has been the status of starting right guard Trey Smith, and whether or not he’ll be in attendance this week amid long-term contract negotiations.

On June 16, the date of this spring’s media day, the Chiefs’ social media dropped a major hint that Smith is in the building ahead of minicamp.

https://x.com/Chiefs/status/1934759394203320824

In a short “passing the phone” video, different Chiefs players introduced teammates in humorous ways, starting with linebacker Jack Cochrane and finishing with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Hidden within the one-minute-plus-long clip was Smith, however, sandwiched in between center Creed Humphrey and superstar defensive lineman Chris Jones around the 50-second mark.

The video appeared to be made live at media day, being that the players were wearing their full KC uniforms and pads. Although that was not confirmed by anyone on the scene.

KSHB 41 beat reporter Nick Jacobs was among the first to spot the potential holdout on X, commenting: “I spy Trey Smith in the Chiefs video.”

And Chiefs Digest beat writer Matt Derrick also weighed in after seeing Jacobs’ post, stating: “Trey Smith took part in Chiefs media day, so there’s that. Will see if he’s on the field for minicamp tomorrow.”

If Smith is indeed in attendance at Kansas City facilities, it’s a good sign that he won’t be holding out of minicamp. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean the integral offensive lineman will be on the field.

The Chiefs could strike a deal with Smith where he’s limited in practice, or the extension-needy blocker could “hold in” and watch from the sidelines. Either way, Smith would avoid a fine so long as he’s in attendance, which certainly appears to be the case as of June 16.

Trey Smith’s Attendance Would Give Chiefs One Less Distraction to Worry About During Minicamp

More than anything, coaches want to use mandatory minicamp to install the offensive and defensive playbooks and get everyone prepared for training camp in late July and August.

That becomes more difficult when there are distractions, like key players holding out, and it’ll be a huge relief if Smith is in attendance. Even if he doesn’t participate in the riskier portions of practice as his agents continue to work on a long-term contract, it’s still a win for KC.

And that’s not all. Smith’s presence at media day — and potentially minicamp, too — displays that there’s no awkwardness or bad blood between the Chiefs front office and the player as the two sides hammer out an agreement.

General manager Brett Veach and Smith have both stated publicly that they’d like to work out an extension this summer, so there’s no reason to believe that won’t happen, especially if he shows up on June 17.

What Could a Trey Smith Contract Extension Look Like With the Chiefs?

Smith was franchise-tagged this offseason, and the maneuver would pay him $23.402 million guaranteed in 2025.

What would a long-term extension look like, though?

Spotrac’s market value calculator projects that Smith is worth $19.7 million over four years, totaling just under $78.825 million. But a contract like that would mean a salary cut for Smith, and he also wouldn’t reset the guard market in total value or annual salary, so that feels way too low.

The current marks to beat at guard are $102.5 million (total money, Chris Lindstrom) and $21 million per year (Landon Dickerson).

If he wants to beat both those numbers, it’s possible Smith could be looking for something in the ballpark of five years, $106 million, which would come out to $21.2 million per year.