The Kansas City Chiefs have informed Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith that he will use the franchise tag on him, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday.
The deadline for teams to use the franchise tag is Monday at 4 p.m. ET.
The Chiefs and Smith have until July 15 to finalize a long-term deal. If they fail to reach an agreement by then, Smith will play the 2025 season under the franchise tag.
At 25 years old, Smith was drafted by the Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2021 draft after playing at Tennessee.
Despite giving Smith a high draft grade, Kansas City waited until the sixth round to select him due to concerns about a blood-clot issue in his lungs during college. However, he quickly secured the starting right guard position, starting 67 of 68 regular-season games over four seasons. He has also started all 13 of the team’s postseason games.
In 2024, Smith ranked 13th among guards in pass block win rate (93.9%) and sixth in run block win rate (a career-best 75.1%). According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he allowed only 1.5 sacks and committed just two penalties, earning his first Pro Bowl selection.
Over the previous three seasons, Smith consistently ranked in the top four among guards in pass rush win rate, finishing second in both 2021 (96.0%) and 2023 (96.6%).
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